OF THE 



REFORMED CHURCH 



IS 



GERMANY. 

BY 

REV. JAMES I. GOOD, D. D. 



* SEP 28 1887' 
Off w/a \w^ v y 



READING, PA. • 

DANIEL MILLER, PUBLISHER 

1887. 



\ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, 
BY REV. JAMES I. GOOD, D. D., 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



\ 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF 

MY SAINTED FATHER, 

REV. WILLIAM A. GOOD, 

WHO LOVED TO 

PREACH THE TRUTHS 

OF THE 

HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, 

THIS BOOK 

IS DEDICATED. 



PEEF ACE. 



A history is a narrative of facts and a philosophy of 
their connection. The aim of this work has been to 
state the facts that led to the origin of the Reformed 
Church in Germany ; and to give the reasons why the 
Reformed left the Lutheran Church. It has been neces- 
sary, therefore, to state a number of illustrations of the 
bigotry of the Lutherans of the sixteenth century, so as 
to account for the movements of the Reformed. But it is 
a pleasant task to record that the Lutherans of to-day 
would not have treated the Reformed thus. The Lu- 
therans of to-day grant to the Reformed Church the 
very principles that the Lutherans of that day denied. 
It is to be remembered in reading this work, that we 
only speak of the period from 1520 (when the first Re- 
formed church was organized in Germany) to 1620 
(when the last prince and land became Reformed). It 
is also to be remembered that we do not aim to describe 
the Swiss Reformed Church, but only the German 
Church. A map has been specially prepared for this 
book, which, it is hoped, will make plain the locations 
of the Reformed States in Germany. (In the map, how- 



VI 



PREFACE. 



ever, the county of Hanau should have been continued 
westward until it touched Frankford.) It is also to be 
remembered that the book was written during the busy 
duties of a city pastorate, which prevented the writer 
from making closer researches on, certain points. This 
work is intended to be a guide book to any who travel 
in Germany, special pains having been taken to give 
the exact location of places interesting in Reformed 
history. The author feels under special obligations to 
Rev. Prof. Chas. A. Briggs, D. D.,and Rev.Chas. Gillett, 
of the Union Seminary, New York, for aid in its invalu- 
able library ; also to Rev. Prof. David Demarest, D. D., 
of the New Brunswick Seminary ; to Rev. Prof. J. H. A. 
Bomberger, D. D., of Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa. ; 
Rev. Prof. J. H. Good, D. D., of Heidelberg Seminary, 
Tiffin, Ohio, and Rev. Prof. J. H. Dubbs, D. D., of 
Lancaster, Pa., for aid given in the preparation of the 
work. He has also added an appendix, entitled the 
" Reformed World," giving the condition of the Re- 
formed Churches throughout the world at the present 
time. It is to be hoped that this book will fill a gap in 
our Reformed Church history, and will stimulate the 
German Reformed people to greater love for their Church 
and greater pride in her history. 

JAMES I. GOOD. 

Philadelphia, Sept. 1, 1887. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTORY SECTION. 

Differences Between the Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Six- 
teenth Century « Page 9 

CHAPTER I. 

SECTION I.— Preparation of Germany for the Reformed Church 24 

SEC. II. — Bucer and his Preparation for the Reformed Church at 

Strasburg 28 

SEC. III. — Hesse and its Preparation for the Reformed Faith 50 

SEC. IV. — Lasco and his Preparation for the Reformed Faith 80 

SEC. V.— Melancthon and his Preparation for the Reformed Church.. 108 

' CHAPTER II. 

The Introduction of the Reformed Faith into the Palatinate 126 

SEC. L— The Preparation of the Palatinate for the Reformed Church.. 1 26 

SEC. II. — The Authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, Ursinus and 

Olevianus 150 

SEC. III. — The Heidelberg Catechism and its Composition 170 

SEC. IV.— The Defence of the Heidelberg Catechism by Elector Fred- 
erick III , , 193 

SEC. V.— The Later Life of Elector Frederick III., 1566—1576 216 

CHAPTER III. 

The Origin of the Reformed Church in Western Germany 232 

SEC. I. — Elector Lewis and his Persecution of the Reformed in the 

Palatinate, 1576—83 232 

SEC. II.— The Introduction of the Reformed Faith into the Wetterau 

District 253 

SEC. III.— Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Bremen 271 

SEC. IV. — Introduction of the Reformed Faith Along the Lower 

Rhine 278 

SEC. V. — Re-introduction of the Reformed Faith into the Palati- 
nate by Prince Casimir, 1583-92 307 

SEC. VI.— Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate and his Reign, 

1592—1610 315 

SEC. VII.— Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Zweibruecken... 323 



VIII 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Central and Eastern Ger- 



many 328 

SEC. I. — Rise and Fall of Crypto-Calvinism in Saxony 328 

SEC. II. — Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Anhalt and Lippe.. 345 

SEC. III.— Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Hesse 352 

SEC. IV. — Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Brandenberg 366 

SEC. V. — Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Liegnitz, Schon- 

aicher, &c 383 

CHAPTER V. 

The Close of the Introduction of the Reformed Church into Germany.. 387 

SEC. T. -Elector Frederick V. of the Palatinate. 1610—20 387 

SEC. II.— The Synod of Dcrt 393 

SEC. III.— Summary 426 

SEC. IV. -Conclusion.... 437 



APPENDIX. • 

The Reformed World Page 459 

Index of Dates 489 

Index of Names and Places ; 491 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Map of Germany in the Seventeenth Century. 

Heidelberg Castle in 1620 Frontispiece. 

Marburg in 1620 Page 72 

Heidelberg in the Sixteenth Century 128 

Zacharias Ursinus 150 

Caspar Olevianus 156 

Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate 192 

The Episcopal Palace at Augsburg 208 

Neustadt 232 

Casimirium at Neustadt 240 

Herborn 264 

Cassel in 1620 352 

Berlin in 1680 368 

The Synod of Dort 408 



INTRODUCTORY SECTION. 



Differences Between the Lutheran and Reformed Churches 
in the Sixteenth Century. 

The Reformed Church of Germany has a history. 
If so, it ought to be told to her English children in their 
own tongue. The history of the German Reformed 
Church is a history of persecutions and triumphs. She 
was a faithful witness to the truth in days of darkness 
and danger. She was not the least among the Reformed 
Churches of the sixteenth century, but was a leader in 
the sacramental Lost of God's elect. 

The most interesting part of Reformed Church his- 
tory is its beginning. To see the light first glimmering 
through the darkness, to see the struggles to find the truth, 
to watch her progress through persecution, and her on- 
ward march to victory, is the most fascinating page of 
her church -life. We propose to take up the story of 
her origin in Germany, and to tell that story simply, but 
faithfully. 

The Reformed Church of Germany was peculiar in 
her origin. The word Reformed originally meant 
" reformed" from the Catholic Church — from her 
abuses and sins. But she was not a Church, reformed 
2 



10 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

from Catholicism, but reformed from Lutheran ism. 
Id other lands, as in Switzerland, France, Holland, 
Scotland and England, the Reformed Church was 
a reforming of the Papal Church. But in Germany Lu- 
theranism had already conquered the land to Protest- 
antism many years before the Reformed Church entered 
that land. With only one exception (the Church at Em- 
den in North Germany ; and perhaps the Reformed 
Church of Strasburg, where the people came from 
Catholicism to the Reformed Church), the whole Re- 
formed Church of Germany came out of the Lutheran 
Church. It was a reformation of the Lutheran Church, 
as the Lutheran Church was a reformation of the Rom- 
ish Church. The Reformed Church, then, was a purer 
Lutheran ism. It was the entrance of a second Protest- 
antism into Germany. The first protest was at Spire, 
in 1529, when the Lutheran princes protested against 
the Catholic decrees of that Diet. And because they 
protested there, all Evangelicals are called Protestants. 
The Reformed Church was a second protest uttered as 
decidedly as the first. Only it was directed against the 
relics of papacy that were still common in the Lutheran 
Church of that day. The Reformed Church finally 
came into official existence at the Diet of Augsburg in 
1566, when Elector Frederick III. made his eloquent 
defence of his Heidelberg Catechism — the second pro- 
test. However friendly the Lutheran and Reformed 



A REFORM m THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. 11 

Churches may be to-day (why should they not be ?) ; yet 
the careful student of history cannot fail to be impressed 
with the fact, that the Lutheran Church of the sixteenth 
century was more bigoted, more intolerant, more sacra- 
mentarian and less liberal than the Lutheran Church of 
the nineteenth century. And so, the founding of the Re- 
formed Church in Germany was a decided, yes in some 
places an indignant, protest against the sacramentarian- 
ism and bigotry of the Lutheran Church. Queen Eliz- 
abeth of England, in one of her letters to the different 
courts of Germany in 1577, speaking of the Reformed 
Churches, calls them the "ecclesiae reformations" — 
'more reformed'' ; implying that the Lutherans were re- 
formed, but the Reformed were more so. The Re- 
formed Church, then, was a reformation of the Lutheran 
Church of that age. 

This history is not intended to be a history of doc- 
trines, but rather a statement of facts. Doctrines are 
only referred to, as they are interwoven with the places 
or the events of history. To write a history of the doc- 
trines, as well as of the events, would far exceed the 
limits of this volume. Certain doctrines, or differences 
in doctrines will have to be taken for granted. It will 
be necessary, therefore, at the very beginning to state 
the differences between the Lutherans and the Reformed 
of that age, so that we need not waste any time hereafter 
by continually defining or describing doctrine. 



12 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



i.— Names of the two Churches. 

The name " Lutheran" was not originally applied to 
the Lutheran Church alone. It was a name given by the 
Catholics to all Evangelicals, Reformed as well as Lu- 
therans. The Catholics made it a term of reproach ; as 
if the Lutherans were the followers of a man, while they 
were the followers of God. So, too, the name "Re- 
formed" was at first a general term for all Evangelicals. 
It included Lutherans as well as Reformed. But in 
course of time these two names came to be applied to 
two great tendencies or divisions in the Church. The 
name "Lutheran," as the official title of the Lutheran 
Church, did not appear until the days of the Formula 
of Concord in 1577, more than half a century after Lu- 
ther began his reformation. Luther had died and it 
then became the fashion to glorify his words and works. 
Andrea and Hunnius then looked on him as a special 
messenger of God to reveal the doctrines of Christianity. 
Luther at first had complained of this use of his name 
by his followers. But his adherents clung to the name 
and prided themselves on it, forgetting Paul's warning 
against the naming of sects after individuals as given in 
1 Cor. 1 : 12, 13, "Now this I say that every one of you 
saith I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, 
and I of Christ. Is Christ divided ? Was Paul cruci- 
fied for you ? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul ?" 

The Reformed Church was not so limited as the 



THE NAMES LUTHERAN AND REFORMED. 13 

Lutheran, in the number of her names. She had several 
names. Her first distinctive name was Sacramentarian 
or Zwinglian. This was a name of reproach given by 
the Lutherans, because the Reformed seemed to them to 
make so much of the sacrament and so little of Christ 
in the Lord's supper ; (the Reformed did not believe in 
the external presence of Christ at the supper.) The 
next name given to the Reformed was the name "Re- 
formed." This name was at first given to all Evan- 
gelicals who aimed to reform the abuses of the Catholic 
Church. But it was first used as the official title of the 
Reformed branch of Churches in the province of Nassau 
in Germany in 1578, then in Anhalt, the Palatinate and 
Bremen. It was used by them, either to emphatically 
define their position against high Lutheranism, or with 
the intention of a more thorough reformation than the 
Lutheran Church had made. But still the old use of 
the name Reformed continued even as late as 1581, 
when in the "Harmony of the Orthodox and Reformed 
Confessions" it is still used in its broad sense ; for that 
Harmony of Reformed creeds includes in it the Augs- 
burg and Wurtemberg Confessions, which were Lu- 
theran. 

The third name given to the Reformed was the 
name " Calvinist." Westphal and Hesshuss, the Lu- 
theran zealots, invented this name, so as to cast reproach 
on the Reformed. They wanted to suggest, (as Calvin was 



14 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

a Frenchman, not a German,) that the Reformed faith 
was a foreign, strange faith to the Germans, and had no 
right to enter Germany. But the Reformed of Ger- 
many seemed to have preferred the name Reformed to 
Calvinist. They did not care to name themselves after 
any particular person. They did not want to have the 
foreign origin of their faith continually hinted at by the 
name Calvinist. There was, however, this difference in 
the use of this name ; that while in Eastern Germany, 
where they were among hostile Lutherans, the Reformed 
seldom used the name Calvinist, in Western Germany 
the name is much oftener used, and pride was taken in 
its use. Such names as are now sometimes given to the 
Reformed, as Reformed-Lutherans or Lutheran-Re- 
formed, only reveal the ignorance of those who use 
them. There never was a Reformed-Lutheran or a 
Lutheran-Reformed Church officially so designated. 
The Reformed Church was always distinct from the 
Lutheran Church, and it emphasized its distinctness and 
separation. It was as much distinct from the Lutheran 
as are the Presbyterian or Episcopal Churches of to-day. 

— Doctrines. 

Let us now notice the difference in doctrine between 
the Reformed and Lutherans of Germany as they ap- 
peared in the sixteenth century. There were three main 
differences in doctrine, mode of worship and govern- 



DIFFERENCE IN DOCTRINE. 



15 



merit. Out of these three, two other differences grew a 
little later. 

The first and most important distinction between 
them was in the doctrine of the sacraments. The Lu- 
therans were higher on the sacraments than the Re- 
formed — higher both on baptism, as well as the Lord's 
supper.* The Lutherans generally held that unbap- 
tized infants were unregenerated ; and there was, to say 
the least, the greatest doubt whether they were saved. 
The Reformed generally held to infant salvation. But 
the most important difference was in the Lord's supper. 
This feast of peace has, alas, been made the bone of con- 
tention. The Lutherans held to Christ's presence in 
the elements, while the Reformed held to His presence 
at the supper, although not necessarily in the elements. 
The Lutherans held to a bodily presence, the Re- 
formed to a spiritual presence. The Lutherans believed 
that Christ's body and blood were intimately united 
with the bread and wine — "in, with and under" the 
bread and wine. The Reformed were ready to grant 
that Christ was received 6 with' the elements, but not 
'in' and ' under' them. As the Lutherans believed that 
Christ's body and blood were mysteriously united with 

*The Lutherans held that baptism was a means of regenera- 
tion, concurrent with the sacramental act and hence necessary 
to salvation. The Reformed held that baptism was a sign and 
seal of regeneration ; concurrent, or preceding, or succeeding 
regeneration according to God's free pleasure. — Schaff. 



16 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the elements, they also believed He was received through 
the mouth with the bread and wine. This doctrine was 
called oral raanducation. The Reformed denied this 
doctrine as savoring of cannibalism ; and held that Christ 
was not received through the mouth, but that He was 
received spiritually by faith. And also, since the Lu- 
therans believed in this union of Christ's body and 
blood with the elements, they believed that all who re- 
ceived the communion, whether worthy or unworthy, re- 
ceived Christ and were blessed. The Reformed declared 
that only those who received it through faith received 
Christ ; all others receiving it only to their condem- 
nation. 

The second difference between them was in their cul- 
tus or manner of worship. The Reformed Church serv- 
ices were simpler than the Lutheran. The Lutheran 
was the high Church, the Reformed the low Church of 
Germany. The Lutherans emphasized the ceremonial, 
the Reformed the spiritual. In baptism the Lutherans 
retained in most places the Catholic rite of exorcism, or 
blowing away of the devil at baptism. And when the 
Formula of Concord was adopted, exorcism became the 
shibboleth of the high Lutherans. The Reformed put 
baptismal fonts out of the churches and went so 
far in their simplicity as often to use nothing but a 
wooden bowl. At the Lord's Supper the Lutherans re- 
tained the wafers of the Catholic Church, while the Re- 



DIFFERENCE IN CUSTOM. 



17 



formed used bread, after the Scriptural mode. The Re- 
formed used common plates and cups at the communion, 
so as to emphasize their simplicity ; sometimes even go- 
ing so far as to use only wooden plates and cups at the 
sacrament. Altars they would not allow in their 
churches. Almost the first act in introducing a Re- 
formed church, was to put away the altars of the Lu- 
therans. Ursinus' opposition to altars is shown in his 
letter to Crato about Morenberg, who had dared to put 
away an altar from his church. "God knows," says 
Ursinus, "I hope that no damage shall come to him for 
the effort, yes, much more that all altars in the world 
might be extirpated, since we have now a single altar, 
our Intercessor in Heaven, who, as He is our Priest, is 
also our altar.* As a result of their lower views on 
the sacraments, the Reformed Church service was much 
freer, less ritualistic and liturgical than the Lutheran. 
The Reformed did not use the Pericopes, or Scripture 
lessons for each Sabbath, in their churches. " Zwingli de- 
parted from the time-honored use of the Scripture les- 
sons, and connectedly explained whole books of the 
Bible, while on this as on other points Luther adhered 
to the ancient custom. "f 

The Reformed Church of Germany followed Zwing- 
li's and Calvin's example. The Lutheran church was 

*Crato, of Krafftheirn, page 256. 
fHagenbach II., 13. 



18 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the church of the pericopes, the Reformed of the whole 
Bible. Henry* says, " In the Lutheran church, the 
pericopes have been retained, they have vanished from 
the Reformed church, and with them all marks of the 
ecclesiastical year." The Reformed ministers seem to 
have been careless about any special dress for the pul- 
pit. " Farel once preached at Rive, wearing no robes 
but preaching in ordinary citizen's dress. This was the 
general custom of the reformers of the Reformed 
Church. "f The Reformed Church never believed in 
the special priesthood of the ministry, she believed in the 
priesthood of all believers. 

The Reformed churches closed organs, stopped 
the ringing of church bells, and, in their intense opposi- 
tion to papal superstitions, refused funeral services at 
the grave, lest they might seem to be prayers for the 
dead. Thus it is easy to see that the Reformed Church 
service was simpler than the Lutheran and more Script- 
ural, also. As D'Aubigne has well observed : Luther 
aimed to put away from the churches only what was 
contrary to the word of God ; Zwingli aimed to have 
nothing in them that was not authorized by the word 
of God. 



*Life of Calvin I., 418. 
fHagenbach II., 203. 



DIFFERENCE IN CUSTOM. 



19 



There were also several minor differences, which 
reveal the papal influence still lingering in the Lutheran 
Church of that day, and which also reveal the Scriptural 
influence on the Reformed. The Lutherans, in the 
Lord's Prayer, retained the form of the Catholic 1 Pater 
Noster/ saying ' Vater Unser/ i father our/ The Re- 
formed repeated it as it is in the Bible, ' Unser Vater/ 
' our father/* They also differed in another clause of the 
Lord's Prayer. The Lutherans translated the clause 
" deliver us from evil," following Augustine and the 
Latin in doing so. This is like the English version of 
the Lord's Prayer. The Reformed, following the Greek, 
translated it ' deliver us from the evil one/ — the devil. 
In the ten commandments, the Lutherans also retained 
the Catholic division, while the Reformed gave the 
Scriptural division. The Lutherans united the first 
two commandments into one ; and then, to make their 
number ten, divided the last commandment on coveting 
into two commandments. But this division of the last 
commandment is contrary to Paul's words against covet- 
ousness, where he alludes to it as one command. 
This union of the first and second commandment served 
to make the command , against images less conspicuous. 
The result was, that images were left in the Lutheran 
churches, while they were put out of the Reformed. 

*Dr. Schaff observes, that this is considered by some 
farmers in Eastern Pennsylvania as the only difference between 
the Lutherans and the Reformed. 



20 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

The Catholics had designedly made this division of the 
ten commandments, so as to allow the use of images in 
their churches. The Lutherans did not retain it for that 
reason, but merely as a relic of Romanism. But it had 
an unfortunate influence on the Lutheran Church, as it 
made her careless in allowing pictures or other papal relics 
to remain in their churches. The Lutherans allowed 
pictures, statues, crucifixes, &c, in the church. The 
Reformed cleansed their churches of all pictures, cruci- 
fixes, even crosses. These differences may seem small 
ones to us at this distant day. But the laity cling to 
customs rather than to doctrines. The introduction of 
bread instead of wafers at the Lord's supper, and the 
putting away of pictures by the Reformed, led to great 
bitterness, and sometimes even to riots, as at Marburg 
and Berlin. 

A third difference between the Lutheran and the 
Reformed Churches lay in their church government. 
Luther did not give so much attention to organization 
as did the reformers of the Reformed Church. The 
Reformed had a splendid set of organizers in Calvin, 
Lasco, Lambert and Olevianus. The Lutheran Church 
was aristocratic — the government of princes, the Re- 
formed Church democratic — the government of the 
ministry and people. The Lutheran Churches were 
generally governed by superintendents, who were ap- 
pointed by the princes of the land. The Reformed 



DIFFERENCE IN GOVERNMENT. 



21 



Churches were governed by the ministry and elders, 
chosen by the people. And the Reformed organization 
was much more complete. It had a regular gradation 
of church-courts. First came the presbytery in the 
congregation, consisting of the pastor and elders of the 
Church. Above it, in regular order, were the church- 
courts of Classis, Synod and General Synod. In some 
of the states of Germany, this pure presbyterian govern- 
ment was, to some extent, modified by a compromise 
between the Lutheran and Reformed customs, in the 
appointment of a consistory. The consistory was like 
the Lutheran form of government, as its members were 
appointed by the prince. But it was like the Reformed, 
as the prince left the entire control of the Church to the 
consistory, and separated its jurisdiction from the 
administration of civil law. These were the three main 
differences between the Lutheran and the Reformed 
Churches, in the early days of the reformation. But 
gradually, as time passed on, two other differences began 
to reveal themselves, until they became distinctive 
doctrines of each Church. 

The first of them was the doctrine of Predestination. 
At first all the reformers were predestinarians. The 
Romanists had so emphasized man's good works as nec- 
essary to salvation, that the reformers went to the other 
extreme, and emphasized God's grace and sovereignty as 
the only source of salvation. Melanchthon in the 



22 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Lutheran Church, finally retired from the high predes- 
tinarian position, and carried the Lutheran Church with 
him. While on the other hand, Calvin progressed in 
it, until he formulated the doctrine for the Reformed 
Church. The doctrinal dissensions of the first half 
century, at the beginning of the reformation, were about 
the Lord's supper ; for the next half century, they were 
mainly about predestination. It is, however, to be re- 
membered, that the Reformed Church of Germany, 
while accepting Calvinism, never officially declared for 
the doctrine of reprobation nor for a limited atonement. 
It is true, these views were largely held by her ministers 
at that time, but they were not expressed by her symbols. 
Her creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, adopts election and 
universal atonement. 

Another difference between the two Churches be- 
came apparent in course of time — the doctrine of 
ubiquity. Ubiquity was the logical outcome of Luther- 
anism, as predestination was of Calvinism. The doc- 
trine of ubiquity is, that the human body of Christ is 
everywhere present. This was logically necessary, so as 
to explain the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's supper. 
As the Lutherans held that Christ's body was present 
whenever the Lord's supper was celebrated ; and as the 
Lord's supper was celebrated in many places at the same 
time, it was logically necessary that Christ's body should 
be present in many places at one time. So they held 



INDIGENOUS TO GERMANY. 



23 



that Christ's humanity was omnipresent like his divinity. 
But the Reformed rebelled at this monstrous doctrine of 
ubiquity. Indeed it was the publication of this doctrine 
of ubiquity, in the Formula of Concord, that drove 
many of the princes of Germany over to the Reformed 
faith. By thus becoming Reformed, these German 
Churches protested against any intermingling of the two 
natures of Christ. Anything that confuses the two 
natures of Christ, or breaks down the distinction be- 
tween them, or savors of Eutychianism, is not Reformed. 
The very existence of the Reformed Church in Germany 
is an evidence of her opposition to, and hatred of, this 
doctrine. 



CHAPTER I.— SECTION I. 
Preparation of Germany for the Reformed Church. 

The Reformed Church of Germany is partly in- 
digenous, and partly foreign, in its origin. On the one 
hand, she was the outgrowth of the spirit and genius of 
the German people. The Germans were a liberty-loving 
race. They did not bow themselves meekly, either to 
the Roman empire or to the Roman Church. So when 
the spirit of reformation appeared in the sixteenth 
century, the Germans were ripe for casting off the yoke 
of Romanism. Now this intense love for freedom, and 
this self-reliance on the part of the Germans, led many 
of them to prefer the Reformed Church to the Lutheran. 
For the Reformed Church was the Church of freedom. 
Her government allows freedom of action and fosters 
self-government through her elders and synods. And 
therefore many of these liberty -loving Germans drifted 
over to the Reformed faith. 

Again, the Germans were a simple-hearted folk. 
There has always been a peculiar simplicity about Ger- 
man piety. This love of simplicity naturally led them 
toward the Reformed Church, whose religious faith and 
manner of worship was more simple than the Lutheran. 



PREPARATION FOR REFORMED CHURCH. 25 



For these reasons the Reformed faith is indigenous to 
German soil — an outgrowth of German character and 
life. Strasbnrg, Emden, Palatinate, Bremen, Hesse, 
grew into the Reformed Church because of its sym- 
plicity. The Augsburg Interim of 1548 had opened 
the eyes of German Protestants to the dangers still lurk- 
ing in many of their forms of worship, which were 
relics of papacy, but retained by the Lutheran Church. 
And this made them the more ready for the simpler 
ritual of the Reformed Church. 

But in other respects, the German Reformed faith 
was foreign in its origin. It came to Germany from the 
outside. The birth place of the Reformed faith was 
Switzerland : and it came into Germany from Switzer- 
land, France, and Holland. Those who suggested, and 
who also organized the Reformed Church to the Ger- 
mans, were mainly foreigners, as Lasco of Poland, 
Lambert of France, and others. 

The relation between these two causes of the Re- 
formed faith, the one external, the other internal, may 
be stated thus : that while the German people were 
naturally inclined toward the freedom and simplicity of 
the Reformed Church, the Reformed faith came to 
them at a peculiar juncture of affairs — at a crisis, when 
the high Lutherans drove the Melancthonians out of 
their ranks. Then, when the princes were tired of the 
madness of theologians, and the people weary of hearing 
3 



26 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

polemics instead of the gospel, in the pulpit, then, just 
then, the Reformed faith came in to gather up the dis- 
contented German christians into its bosom and give 
them rest. 

There were four different movements that pre- 
pared the way for the introduction of the Reformed 
faith. The Reformed Church was officially recognized 
by the German government for the first time at the Diet 
of Augsburg, in 1566, when Elector Frederick III. of 
the Palatinate took his stand as a member of the Re- 
formed Church. The conversion of this, the leading 
Elector of Germany, arrested the attention of all Ger- 
many, and gave prominence and permanence to the Re- 
formed faith. The Palatinate, with Heidelberg as its 
capital, became the centre of Reformed influence all 
over the land. But before the Palatinate became Re- 
formed, there were four distinct movements, which pre- 
pared the way. 

The first city in Germany to feel the influence of 
Reformed doctrines was Strasburg, under Bucer and 
Capito. Strasburg was finally lost to the Reformed 
faith, as it went over to Lutheranism. But the influence 
of Bucer the reformer, and John Sturm the teacher, left 
a deep impression on Germany. 

The next land to tend toward the Reformed faith 
was Hesse. Landgrave Phillip of Hesse, by his friend- 
ship with Zwingli and Bucer, by the introduction of 



PREPARATION FOR REFORMED CHURCH. 27 

synods into his land, sowed the seed, which, however, 
did not harvest until nearly a century later, when Land- 
grave Maurice finally went over to the Reformed 
Church. But Hesse, with its Marburg Conference of 
1529, made a deep impression on Germany, in favor of 
the Reformed Church. 

The third place, where the Reformed Church gained 
a foothold, was at Emden in North Germany. This 
was the first purely Reformed Church in Germany, 
the Reformed doctrines being introduced as early as 
1526, by Aportanus. It was the only German Church 
that came directly from Romanism into the Reformed 
faith. The influence of the Church at Emden was 
made greater by the coming of John A. Lasco, the 
Polish reformer. Emden became a refuge for the per- 
secuted Reformed of all lands, and her foreign Reformed 
Churches opened the eyes of the Germans to the reality 
and beauty of the Reformed faith. 

The last cause was not a local one, but a mental one 
— a tendency of thought, in many parts of Germany. 
It was Melancthonianism. The adherents of Melanc- 
thon ? s liberal views prepared the way for our faith. 
Melancthon himself never was Reformed ; but his in- 
fluence finally became a tendency in that direction. 

We will take up these four different causes for the 
Reformed Church in their order. 



CHAPTER I. — SECTION II. 

Bncer and his Preparation for the Reformed Church at 
Strasburg. 

Strasburg was one of the most flourishing and liberal 
of the free cities of Germany. Being a free city, the 
gospel soon found a free and hearty reception among its 
citizens. From the flat plain, in which it lies, its tall 
cathedral spire can be seen for many miles around. 
Like its church spire, Strasburg became a finger point- 
ing heavenward, exerting a wide influence on western and 
southern Germany. Matthew Zell introduced the evan- 
gelical doctrines into Strasburg. It is a remarkable fact 
that the cathedral, now so given to Romish rites, was the 
birth place of the gospel for that city. Luther's brave 
conduct at the Diet of Worms, not far away, made a 
deep impression on all western Germany ; and Luther's 
writings, scattered abroad, were read in Strasburg. Zell 
in 1521 began preaching the evangelical faith, by ex- 
pounding the epistle to the Romans. He first preached 
them in the chapel of St Lawrence, one of the side 
chapels of the cathedral. But as the chapel became too 
small, he began to preach in the great auditorium of the 
cathedral. And, as the Romish bishop locked the great 



ZELL AND HIS HELPERS. 



29 



pulpit of the cathedral against the preaching of such 
heresy, the carpenters from the neighboring Kurben- 
strasse made a portable wooden pulpit, that it might be 
brought into the cathedral, when there was preaching. 
From it he preached, and after each service was over, 
it was carried out again. He soon after completed his 
breach with Rome by marrying, and his home became 
a refuge for the persecuted brethern, who came to Stras- 
burg from other lands and cities. Zell was a Zwinglian 
in his belief, but took little part in theological con- 
troversies. 

But God soon raised up helpers, to aid him in the work 
of reforming Strasburg. The one was Capito, who had 
been cathedral preacher at Mayence, who came to St. 
Thomas as provost. Another helper was Jacob Sturm. 
Born at Strasburg, he belonged to a family which, for 
more than two centuries, had given Strasburg its ablest 
magistrates. After 1522 Sturm stood at the head of 
the government of this free city. From 1525 to 1552 
as the representative of Strasburg he took part in ninety- 
one political and religious negotiations. He was one 
of the most influential councillors of Germany. As 
early as 1524 he had openly declared for Protestantism 
and freedom of conscience, without any interference from 
emperor or pope. He was a tower of strength for 
Protestantism. 

But the leader of the Strasburg reformation was 
Martin Bucer. He was born at Schlettstadt, in 1491. 



30 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



In the celebrated Latin school there, he showed such 
precocity, that his friends prophesied ' he would become 
a pope if he could.' Under the influence of Udenheim, 
he, with his friend Beatus Rhenanus, was introduced to 
the teaching of humanism.* Bucer hoped to become a 
teacher of these new sciences without becoming a priest ; 
but, as no way seemed to open to him, he was compelled 
to enter the Church. In 1506 he joined the preaching 
order of the Dominicans, who, strange to say, called 
themselves ' reformed.' But his Latin books were taken 
away by them, and he was compelled to study the dry 
dialectics of Lombard and Aquinas, two teachers of 
Catholic theology. Wearied of this, he tried to get 
away to Heidelberg, where there was a large monastery 
of his order, and where he would have the advantages 
of the university; especially as John Agricola had 
already introduced the humanistic studies into the 
university. The prior of his convent sympathized with 
the ambitious boy ; so he was sent to Heidelberg. Here 
he studied the Bible ; and, even at some danger to him- 
self, began to teach it to the younger brethren of his 
order. Luther's writings made a deep impression on him. 

^Humanism was the progressive culture of its day. It in- 
cluded the study of Greek, a new language then to Europe. 
The study of Greek led to the reading of the Bible in the origi- 
nal, and thus unveiled the errors of Rome. The study of the 
new sciences led to a progressive spirit, which would not be re- 
strained by the shackles of Romanism, but broke with them 
and formed Protestantism. 



CONVERSION OF BUCER. 



31 



Luther's visit to Heidelberg in 1518 clinched those im- 
pressions. For Luther, accompanied by Staupitz, came 
to Heidelberg on a general visitation to his order. 
While there, he held, in April, 1518, an open discussion 
on forty theses, in the Augustinian convent. The court, 
university and citizens attended this discussion, which 
set Heidelberg on fire, and spread throughout all southern 
Germany. The next day Bucer had a private confer- 
ence with Luther. The Augustinians and Dominicans 
were rival orders, but Luther was so pleased with Bucer, 
that he declared that Bucer was the only brother of the 
Dominican order " without guile." For trying to 
spread Luther's doctrines among his order, Bucer was 
persecuted, and finally compelled to flee from Heidel- 
berg. He went to Spire, where Ulric von Hutten sent 
him to Francis von Sickingen, who protected him from 
the wrath of his order. He was finally released from 
the authority and persecutions of his order, through the 
intervention of Ulric von Hutten, and transferred by 
the bishop of Spire to the secular clergy. He then be- 
came court chaplain of Elector Frederick II. of the 
Palatinate, hoping to be able to influence him to Protest- 
antism, as the Elector was leaning that way. But 
Bucer, weary of the frivolity of his court, left it and 
went in 1522 to Sickingen, who appointed him pastor 
at Landstuhl. While there, he married a nun, and, as 
he was one of the first priests to marry, he had to bear 



32 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



much odium on account of it. He then went to Weis- 
senberg, where he founded an evangelical Church. But 
having been excommunicated by the bishop of Spire, he 
fled to Strasburg, hoping to find in that free city an 
asylum. Here he, at first, lectured on the Pauline 
Epistles to a circle of scholars in ZelPs house. He was 
very poor, and wrote to Zwingli for help. Ulric von 
Hutten was then at Zurich and interceded for him. 
Thus Bucer was led into correspondence with the Swiss, 
and early expressed a greater preference for their doc- 
trines than for Luther's. Zell allowed Bucer to lecture 
in the chapel of St. Lawrence, and as the bishop had 
stopped his preaching, he loaned him his wooden pulpit, 
from which Bucer taught the gospel to an increasing 
congregation. The Catholics tried to stop this. One 
day, while Bucer was preaching in the cathedral, the 
monks in the choir of the church began singing their 
service, so as to drown his voice. Bucer's listeners 
murmured at the interruption, and one of them, a joiner 
by trade, went to the monks in the choir of the church, 
and advised them to wait until the end of Bucer's ser- 
mon. But as words passed and the monks began to 
defend themselves, a riot became imminent. Bucer "s 
congregation picked up their stools and footstools to 
use against the insolent monks, when, just then, the 
chief magistrate appeared, and both parties were sum- 
moned to appear before the city council the next day. 



BUCER IN STRASBURG. 



33 



It happened that about this time German mass was 
celebrated in the St. John's Chapel of St. Lawrence 
Church, and the Lord's supper administered in two 
kinds at St. Thomas Church. Thus, the evangelical 
influences became strong to aid him. Bucer's father be- 
came a resident of Strasburg. He, too, exerted himself 
for his son ; and wrote that, if he taught anything con- 
trary to the Scripture, he would be willing to die. All 
these influences led the city council to take Bucer under 
their protection. This threatened riot brought matters 
to a crisis ; for the city council ordered, that nothing 
but the pure gospel should be preached in Strasburg. 
In 1524, the priests of St. Aurelian Church refused to 
obey the city council and become citizens of Strasburg ; 
so Bucer, who had now become a citizen, was unani- 
mously elected pastor of that Church. It appears that 
many people made pilgrimages to St. Aurelian's to 
be cured of the fever at the saint's tomb. Bucer 
therefore, preached against all these Romish supersti- 
tions, so that his parishioners removed the wonder-work- 
ing body of the saint and destroyed the grave. 

Bucer, having come in correspondence with the 
Swiss, began to be influenced toward their greater sim- 
plicity of service and doctrine. Strasburg also began 
to feel the influence of the neighboring French Reform- 
ed Church. Far^ the Elijah of the Alps, came to 
Strasburg, and remained there- as pastor of the French 



34 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Church for fifteen months. Lefevre, the first of the re- 
formers, and Roussel, the court chaplain of Queen 
Margaret of Navarre, also stayed at Strasburg. Capito 
especially was affected by these French Reformed min- 
isters, although all felt their influence. 

But the first breach between Bucer and Luther came 
in 1525. Gerbel, a jurist of Strasburg, wrote to Luther 
against the Strasburg ministers, charging them with 
departing from Lutheranism. So Bucer and Capito, 
anxious to preserve peace and unity, sent Caselius to 
Luther at Wittenberg, to act as mediator. Luther was 
not satisfied with their statements about the Lord's sup- 
per. " One or the other of the two parties must be of 
Satan," he said. Caselius returned, and Bucer saw 
with deep sorrow, that the bond of unity between 
Luther and themselves was broken. The result was 
that Bucer inclined more and more away from the 
Lutherans, and toward the Swiss. This shows itself 
quite clearly in the fourth part of Luther's Postiles, 
which Bucer translated from the German into Latin f at 
the request of the Italian refugees at Strasburg. In 
this translation, Bucer made some changes in the doc- 
trine of the Lord's supper, that angered Luther very 
much. In 1528 the relations between Bucer and 
the Swiss became so close, that Bucer attended a dispu- 
tation at Berne. In 1528 Bucer issued his " Dialogus," 
in which he reproved the cgarse language that Luther 



BREACH BETWEEN BUCER AND LUTHER. 35 

had used. Luther in return, wrote to his friend Gerbel 
in Strasburg, " that he (Gerbel) must live among beasts, 
vipers, lions, panthers, and was in greater danger than 
Daniel in the den of lions." In 1529 this intimacy of 
Strasburg with the Swiss was further aided by the visit 
of Zwingli on his way to the conference at Marburg. 
Zwingli was very cordially received at Strasburg, and 
during his stay of twelve days, preached with great ac- 
ceptance. At Marburg, Bucer openly sided with 
Zwingli and the Swiss against Luther. Luther, when 
he saw Bucer, pointed his finger at him, and said sneer- 
ingly, " you are a knave." Nevertheless, Bucer labored 
for harmony and a union between Luther and Zwingli 
at this conference. 

In 1530 came the great Diet of Augsburg. The 
boldness of the Protestants at that Diet was quite mark- 
ed. Landgrave Phillip of Hesse opened the gates of 
the cathedral, and had his chaplain Schnepff preach 
the word of salvation in it; and on May fifteenth, 
Phillip ordered Cellarius, a Zwinglian and a pastor of 
Augsburg, to preach in the cathedral. After this the 
Landgrave settled down to St. Ulric Church, and the 
Elector of Saxony to St. Catharine's, where the pure 
gospel was preached to great crowds. The whole city 
seemed to incline to Protestantism, but to Zwing- 
lianism rather than to Lutheranism. But when, later, 
the Emperor arrived, the business of the Diet began ; 



36 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

and Melancthon presented the Augsburg Confession to 
the Emperor.* Bucer hoped, that that confession would 
be so worded that the Strasburg delegates could sign it, 
and be protected by it. But that confession was so 
worded as to exclude them; though at Landgrave 
Phillip's request, it did not condemn the Zwinglians by 
name. 

As the Strasburg delegates found that they were 
shut out from signing the Augsburg Confession, they 
deemed it necessary, (as the Emperor had asked a state- 
ment of doctrine from all the evangelical states,) to draw 
up a confession of their own and present it. Bucer and 
Capito drew up a confession of twenty-three articles, 
called the Tetrapolitana, { 'of four cities' — because it 
was signed by the four cities of Strasburg, Constance, 
Memmingen and Lindau.) This was the first Reform- 
ed Confession of Germany. On the article on the Lord's 
supper it differed from the Augsburg Confession in 
keeping the relations of Christ's body to the bread in 
the background. f There is nothing said of the recep- 
tion of the body of Christ through the mouth, or of the 
blessing on unbelievers who partake of the Lord's sup- 

*His confession was read before the Emperor in the saloon 
of the old Episcopal palace, which was small and held only two 
hundred persons. But, as it was not raised high above the 
ground, those who stood outside could hear it. 

fit says, " Christ offers to his followers His very body and 
blood as spiritual food and drink, whereby their souls are nour- 
ished unto everlasting life." 



BUCER AT THE AUGSBURG DIET. 



37 



per. In these respects, it differs from the Lutheran. 
Like all Reformed confessions, it gives a prominent 
position to the authority of the Scriptures, ordering that 
nothing should be taught in the churches, but what was 
contained in the word of God or fairly deduced from it. 
While on the authority of the Bible, the Lutherans, 
from prudence, were silent in their confession. The 
Tetrapolitana also rejects the worship of images, on 
which the Augsburg is also silent. Thus the Tetra- 
politana was more outspoken against the errors of Rome 
than the Augsburg; and it reveals in itself the germs 
of future Calvinism. In 1531 the Strasburg delegates, 
agreeing with it in essentials, had to sign the Augsburg 
confession, in order to join the Smalcald League of 
Princes. But Bucer remained true to the old Tetra- 
politana, and on his deathbed reconfessed it as his, in 
his last will and testament. This Diet of Augsburg 
may be called the Diet of confessions ; for Zwingli also 
sent a confession to the Emperor. His confession was 
more radical even than the Tetrapolitana, although in 
the Lord's supper he acknowledges that the true body 
of Christ was present — an advance on his previous state- 
ments. The Tetrapolitana afterwards was made the 
basis of the Wittenberg Concord. In 1533 a Synod 
lasting ten days, under the presidency of Jacob Sturm, 
adopted sixteen articles of doctrine and government for 
Strasburg. These made the church of Strasburg much 



38 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

simpler than that of Wittenberg in its rites, and 
contrasted strangely with the semi-catholic customs re- 
tained in that Saxon country. Images and many of the 
altars were put out of the churches. But in their re- 
forms they did not go quite as far as the Reformed did 
afterwards ; for private communion, private confession, 
organs and an altar in each of the churches, were per- 
mitted to remain. These the Reformed afterwards en- 
tirely abolished in their churches in Germany. 

This completed the conversion of Strasburg to Prot- 
estantism, and Bucer now had time to attend to other 
matters. Landgrave Phillip of Hesse having conquer- 
ed Wurtemberg and restored it to Duke Ulric, Bucer 
went there to complete the conversion of that land to 
Protestantism. In one part, ' ob der steig/ Zw i^glianism 
prevailed, in 1 Unter den Steig' Lutheranism prevailed. 
Had the conquest occurred before the death of Zv> ingli, 
Wurtemberg would probably have become Reformed. 
Or had it taken place before the Diet of Augsburg, it 
might have become Reformed. But now Wurtem- 
berg, in order to receive the protection of the Augs- 
burg confession, which was the only confession legally 
acknowledged in Germany, became Lutheran. Bucer 
was now free to begin his union efforts to bring the 
Lutherans and Reformed together. He was the great 
peacemaker of the sixteenth century. Jacob Sturm 
always aimed to bring these two faiths together, from 



bucer's efforts for unity. 



39 



political motives, because of dangers of disunion that 
threatened Strasburg for being Reformed. So Bucer 
began his efforts toward union. First at Constance and 
then at a conference with Melancthon at Cassel, they 
agreed to a compromise about the Lord's supper. The 
result was that in May, 1536, Bucer and Capito went to 
Wittenberg to meet Luther and Melancthon, and draw 
up a confession on which they could unite. Since the 
death of Zwingli, the Swiss were more- concessive. 
Luther, too, was in a softer mood. So they agreed on a 
compromise confession, called the Wittenberg Concord. 
Melancthon drew it up. Its phraseology is Lutheran ; 
but it allowed a Reformed interpretation of the sacra- 
ment. It asserts that the body aud blood of Christ are 
truly present and offered in the sacrament. The differ- 
ence between the reformers seemed then to be, whether 
the body and blood of Christ were received by the un- 
worthy or not. Finally a lucky inspiration seized Lu- 
ther and led him to say, "After all, why should we 
quarrel about unbelievers. We receive you as brethren 
in Christ," and stretched forth his hand in token of peace. 
So they came to a compromise on the communion of un- 
believers, by a distinction between the unworthy and 
godless. The word ' unworthy' was used ; but with the 
understanding that the godless did not receive the body 
and blood in the bread and wine. In this Wittenberg 
Concord, the Lutherans, for the first time, acknowledged 



40 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the Reformed as brethren, in spite of their differences. 
This was a great advance on Luther's position at Mar- 
burg, where he refused fellowship with Zwingli. 

This Wittenberg Concord proved a great blessing to 
Germany ; for it gave theological peace to Germany for 
twenty years, until Luther's death. During these 
twenty years the Zwinglians developed upward, through 
Calvin, to a higher appreciation of the sacraments, while 
on the other hand, a large part of the Lutherans develop- 
ed downward, through Melancthon, toward Calvin's 
position. Thus Germany became theologically, as well 
as politically, united against Catholicism, on the basis of 
the Wittenberg Concord. Had it remained so united, 
there would probably have been no Thirty Years' war, 
with its untold horrors. 

Bucer, having healed the breach between Lutheranism 
and the Reformed Church, as well as it could be healed, 
now had time to devote himself more fully to the affairs 
of the church at Strasburg. The Latin School, founded 
more than a decade of years before, was enlarged into a 
Gymnasium.* John Sturm, one of the most learned 
men of his day, was called from Paris to Strasburg, to 
become its rector. He became one of the most remark- 
able men in Germany. Discarding the old scholastic 
methods of teaching, he adopted the new humanistic 
principles, and aimed to unite classic learning with 



*This school adjoined the New Kirche. 



COMING OF CALVIN. 



41 



evangelical piety, science with religion. His method of 
teaching thoroughly revolutionized the whole of South- 
ern Germany. But his especial significance to us is 
that he became a tower of strength to the Reformed 
Church. 

Another impulse toward the Reformed faith was 
given by the arrival of Calvin in 1538. Calvin had 
visited Strasburg before, in 1534, when fleeing from 
Paris. At that time he arrived at Strasburg in a sorry 
plight. One of his servants had stolen all his money. 
Had not the other servant come to his help, he might 
never have reached Strasburg. He then stayed with 
Zell, whose wife kept open house for all refugees. Since 
then Bucer had met Calvin at Berne, in 1537, when 
Calvin so wonderfully healed the strife about the sac- 
raments in the Swiss churches. Bucer there learned to 
admire Calvin's genius. And when Calvin was driven 
out of Geneva, Bucer urged him to come to Strasburg. 
He wanted Calvin to aid him in the organization of the 
church, and also to preach to the French refugees, of 
whom there were 1500 at Strasburg. Calvin accepted 
the call and, coming to Strasburg, began to preach to 
the French refugees in the choir of the church of the 
Dominicans. Afterwards the church of 'St. Nicolas 
by the waves,' near the 111 river, was given to him for 
worship. His French church, which he served from 
1538 to 1540, became a blooming garden of the Lord. 
4 



42 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



He introduced the pure presbyterial form of govern- 
ment into the church, which was a novelty to the 
people of Strasburg, and his church became a model 
of discipline He preached twice a week, met the eld- 
ers and deacons once a week for study and prayer ; until 
they became so proficient, that some of them were able 
to take his place in preaching. But his ministry was 
not limited to his church. He was soon asked to give 
lectures in the Academy on divinity. He there lec- 
tured on John, Romans, &c, and developed himself as 
an exegete or interpreter of Scripture. Luther was the 
translator, Calvin the exegete, of the reformation. He 
also prepared a new edition of his Institutes, in which 
he elaborated more fully his views on predestination 
and church discipline. Luther expressed himself pleased 
with Calvin's Institutes. For Calvin there joined the 
middle party between the Lutherans and the Zwingli- 
ans, and labored for peace. He sought to avoid the 
positive error of Luther and the negative error of 
Zwingli ; in Luther, the feeding of the unworthy, in 
Zwingli, the bread and wine as signs.* Thus during his 
stay, Strasburg became, next to Wittenberg, the most 
important religious centre of Germany. Wittenberg 
and Strasburg were 'the two eyes' of Germany. But 

#He taught "that the believer was, through faith, fed, only 
spiritually but in a real way, by the body and blood of Christ 
at the supper," but that unbelievers received merely bread and 
wine. 



CALVIN AND MELANCTHON. 43 

there was a special provideDce about his coming to Stras- 
burg. God meant it so. He came to Germany just in 
time to offset the Catholics in their efforts to win back 
the Protestants to the Pope. Conferences for that pur- 
pose were held at Frankford, Hagenau and Worms. 
Melancthon and Bucer were inclined to be yielding 
and concessive — would have been swayed to some ex- 
tent by the Catholics, had it not been for the presence 
of Calvin and his uncompromising opposition to the pa- 
pacy. The second providence in his visit to Germany 
was, that Calvin learned to understand the German re- 
formers and the German controversies. And Melanc- 
thon learned to understand the Calvinists better. It 
brought Melancthon and Calvin together. This stay' 
at Strasburg broadened Calvin's mind and sympathies. 
Calvin attended the three conferences between the Prot- 
estants and Catholics on union. In 1539 he went to 
the conference at Frankford. Here, for the first time, 
he saw the leading princes and theologians of Germany ; 
and was able to form a just estimate of the position of 
Protestantism in Germany. Here he first met Me- 
lancthon. Melancthon and Calvin were the two, best 
fitted to come to an agreement between the Reformed 
and the Lutherans. Calvin set before Melancthon his 
articles of faith. To his surprise, Melancthon agreed 
to them. But while they were about to agree on the 
doctrine of the Lord's supper, they could not agree on 



44 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



church customs and discipline. Meiancthon was pli- 
able and yielding here, Calvin, unyielding. Those cere- 
monies of the Lutheran Church, which were relics of 
Catholicism, such as singing in Latin, images, exorcism, 
&c, Calvin bitterly opposed ; while Meiancthon pleaded 
their necessity. Neither did they agree on the doctrine 
of predestination. Calvin is said to have rebuked Me- 
iancthon for holding to synergism (thus emphasizing 
man's will over against God's will). Modern writers, 
who try to make the German Reformed Church Me- 
lancthonian, must remember that, however Meianc- 
thon and Calvin n eared each other on the Lord's sup- 
per, they were yet wide apart in cultus, discipline and 
predestination. In 1540 Calvin married Idelette l)e 
Bure. He greatly enjoyed his married life, and found 
his wife a true helpmeet. In 1541 Calvin attended the 
third conference at Worms. To this conference, on ac- 
count of the abilities he displayed at Frankford and 
Hagenau, he went as the deputy of Brunswick-Lune- 
burg, as well as of Strasburg. At Worms he again met 
Meiancthon, and also Cruciger. One day, as the Dean 
of Passau, in private conference, was vanquished by 
Calvin, his hearers were so delighted by his learning, 
that Meiancthon gave him the title of 'The Theolo- 
gian.' From that time a strong tie of affection bound 
Calvin and Meiancthon together. Calvin, a year after 
the death of Meiancthon, wrote, "O, Phillip Melanc- 



CALVIN AND MELANCHTHON. 



45 



thon, for it is upon thee I call, who now livest with 
Christ in God, and art there waiting for us, until we 
also be gathered with thee to that blessed rest. A hun- 
dred times, worn out with fatigue and overwhelmed 
with care, thou didst lay thy head upon my breast and 
say, ' Would to God I might die here on thy breast/ 
And I, a thousand times since, have earnestly desired 
that it be granted us to be together." A very interest- 
ing fact about Calvin's visit to Worms was, that he there 
signed the Augsburg Confession. At this conference 
the Altered Augsburg Confession was used for the first 
time. Calvin signed it, as he says, "willingly and with 
his whole heart." Another conference, to unite Protestant- 
ism and Romanism, was held at Ratisbon. Calvin dif- 
fered from Melanchthon, who was willing to make con- 
cessions to the Catholics. Referring to this, he speaks 
about their 'being satisfied with a half-Christ.' But the 
delegates from the city of Geneva had come to both 
Worms and Ratisbon, to urge him to leave Germany 
and return to Geneva. Strasburg was unwilling to 
give him up. (Indeed so great an influence had he 
gained at Strasburg, that in 1551, when Strasburg de- 
liberated about sending a delegate to the Council of 
Trent, who should intercede for the Strasburg churches 
before the Council, the ministers concluded that Calvin 
was the most suitable.) Bucer alone urged him to go 
to Geneva, although it would be his loss and Stras- 



46 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



burg's. Thus Calvin's brief stay gave him an influence 
and reputation in South Germany, which prepared the 
way for an entrance of his doctrines twenty years later. 
Then came the Augsburg Interim of 1548, which was 
ordered to be introduced into Strasburg. The Prot- 
estants were required to conform to the Catholic rites of 
fasting, prayers to the virgin and saints, festival days, 
and processions. But Bucer, usually so yielding, was 
here firm as a rock. He answered the Elector of Brand- 
enburg, who was to introduce the Interim into Strasburg, 
" Man dares do nothing against conscience and the 
truth." The Interim was forced on Strasburg ; and as a 
result, Bucer, rather than sacrifice his conscience, resign- 
ed. His resignation was accepted, especially as some of 
the city council were opposed to Bucer's rather strict 
church discipline. So in 1549, Bucer, accompanied by 
Fagius, went to England. Melancthon, Calvin, Land- 
grave Phillip of Hesse, had invited him to labor in their 
respective homes. But Bucer preferred England, where 
he would be free from the Interim. He there became 
professor at Cambridge, and exercised considerable influ- 
ence in the preparation of the Book of Common Prayer, 
and the forty-two Articles, afterward shortened to the 
thirty-nine Articles — the present creed of the Anglican 
Church. He died there, and was buried in the leading 
church of Cambridge, with great pomp. Queen Mary 
subsequently had his bones burnt ; but a monument to 



marbach's influence at strasburg. 47 

his memory was erected by Queen Elizabeth. In 1552 
the Interim was lifted from Strasburg, and she returned 
to the full enjoyment of her former Protestant faith. In 
1553 Jacob Sturm, the councillor of Strasburg, died. 
His irenic influence had kept the Lutherans from at- 
tacking the Reformed. But, after his death, Marbach, 
who had become professor of theology, labored hard to 
introduce high Lutheranism. As president of the church 
conference, Marbach had great influence. He wanted 
to undermine the Tetrapolitana confession, which had 
been the confession of Strasburg, in the interest of the 
Augsburg confession. There had been a good deal of 
freedom allowed in matters of worship. Marbach urged 
uniformity, and wanted to introduce the Lutheran hymn 
book, instead of Bucer's, which was then in use. He 
also aimed to drive the Reformed, especially the French, 
out of the city. Peter Martyr, driven out of England 
by bloody Mary, arrived, and was required to sign the 
Augsburg confession. This was something new. Zanch- 
ius had to do the same thing, when he arrived. These 
things show that the influence of high Lutheranism was 
growing. Marbach brought the pictures back into the 
churches. In 1555 Marbach attacked Gamier, the 
pastor of the French Church, and compelled him to 
leave the city. The younger preachers, supported by 
Marbach, then began to denounce the Reformed. Peter 
Martyr left, and went to Zurich ; and Zanchius was left 



48 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



as the only Reformed professor of theology at Strasburg. 
In 1561 Marbach attacked Zanchius for teaching the 
doctrine of predestination. This was the first attack by 
the Lutherans on the Calvinistic doctrine of predestina- 
tion. Zanchius appealed to the Hessian theologians for 
an opinion. They supported him in his views of pre- 
destination. The first attack upon, and first defense of, 
predestination, were made in Germany. But though Ja- 
cob Sturm was dead, John Sturm remained. Although a 
Frenchman, he was the i Cicero of Germany/ the finest 
teacher after Melancthon. Under his matchless teach- 
ing, many of the nobles of Germany were educated, and 
quite a number of them afterward joined his Reformed 
church. Being a Frenchman, he early took the French 
refugees at Strasburg under his special care. He came 
to the help of Zanchius, when attacked, by publishing 
Bucer's work on the Lord's supper. Zanchius had also 
made himself unpopular with the high Lutherans, by at- 
tacking their new doctrine of ubiquity. Finally, in 
1563, a compromise was framed.* But even this con- 
sensus contained in it germs of new^quarrels. Zanch- 
ius, wearied with strife, left Strasburg, went to Chiaven- 
na, and afterwards to Heidelberg. Sturm remained as 
leader of the Reformed. In 1577 Duke Ulric of 
Wurtemberg sent a copy of the Formula of Concord to 

*This expressed the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's supper,, 
but on predestination held that all who believed were saved. 



PERSECUTION OF REFORMED AT STRASBURG. 49 

the magistrates, for adoption. They rejected it Pap- 
pus urged its adoption, but the university with Dr. 
Sturm, backed up the magistrates. Finally, the high 
Lutherans drove Sturm from his position as rector of 
the University. After forty years of service, John 
Sturm, the brightest ornament of the town, resigned in 
1581. The Formula of Concord was introduced, and 
Strasbnrg became Lutheran. The French Reformed 
were uot permitted to worship in the city, but had to go 
to Wolfisheim, one half mile away.* They also went to 
Bischweiler in the neighboring Palatinate. Finally, 
after two hundred years of exile, the Reformed were 
again allowed to worship in Strasburg in 1789. Thus 
Bucer's work of years was undone. The Reformed 
Church did not find a permanent home at Strasburg. It 
remained for the neighboring Palatinate to take up the 
work for the Reformed Church, that Strasburg dropped. 
But Bucer's work at Strasburg prepared the way for 
the introduction of the Reformed faith into Germany. 
It accustomed the Germans to the simpler rites of the 
Reformed Church. Under the Wittenberg Concord it 
gave them a right to exist under the German law. And 
Strasburg became the forerunner of Heidelberg in receiv- 
ing the Reformed faith. 

*The Fort Prince Bismark occupies the site of Wolfisheim. 



CHAPTER I.— SECTION III. 
Hesse and its Preparation for the Reformed Faith. 

Hesse, situated in the central part of Germany, was 
a very important state in the sixteenth century. It hap- 
pened to have for its Landgrave, or ruler, Phillip, the 
most aggressive of the German princes of his time. He 
has been compared to Phillip of Macedon for his sub- 
tility, and to Alexander the Great for his courage. Me- 
lancthon, for his boldness, called him i the Macedonian.' 
Though young when the reformation broke out, he yet, 
with a keen statesman's eye, foresaw results, to which the 
other German princes were blind. At first he persecuted 
Protestantism in his dominion ; but afterwards he fought 
for it as bravely as he once persecuted it. The reformation 
came quietly into his land, but exerted little influence 
until the prince himself suddenly went over to Protest- 
antism. Hesse was the first land where the prince, and 
not the theologians, began converting his subjects to 
evangelical truth. 

As early as 1517, when Luther and Zwingli began 
to preach the gospel, James Limburg, one of the Fran- 
ciscan Friars of Marburg, began preaching it. For 
preaching it to his brethren, the w r hole monastery rose 



LANDGRAVE PHILLIP'S REFORMATION. 51 



against him, tore him by force from the pulpit, and 
threw him into a prison, which had an open window 
opposite the wall of the city. He preached the gospel 
through the open window ; and at night some of the 
citizens would secretly come to this solitary loophole to 
hear the word of God. These mysterious gatherings 
continued for about two weeks. Suddenly the voice 
within ceased ; the meetings had been discovered. The 
monks had taken him from that prison, and cast him in 
a vault of the church, by a crucifix. For three months 
he was thus imprisoned. Then one night a mysterious 
covered cart was driven through Ziegenberg, a village 
one hour south of Marburg, where some weeping citizens 
€ame up to him. Hastily snatching aside the canvas, 
they asked him whither he was going. " Where God 
wills," replied the Friar ; and disappeared, probably to 
die in some unknown prison. 

But an event occurred in 1524 that converted Phil- 
lip to Protestantism. Providence brought Landgrave 
Phillip of Hesse and Phillip Melancthon together. As 
Phillip was on his way to Heidelberg to attend a shoot- 
ing match near Frankford, he met Melancthon, who 
was on a holiday visit to his native land, the Palatinate. 
The result of this conference was that, in that same year, 
Landgrave Phillip ordered that the pure gospel should 
be preached in his territories. The Landgrave had a 
political as well as a religious motive for doing this. 



52 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

His land, in religious affairs, had been under the Elector 
of Mayence. By going over to Protestantism and 
declaring it the religion of the land, he freed it from 
the power of the Elector of Mayence. So he joined the 
Protestants. But in order to have Protestantism fully 
introduced into his territories, he needed some master 
spirit, some reformer, to help him. At the Diet of 
Spire he met the astute councillor of Strasburg, Jacob 
Sturm, who recommended to him Lambert of Avignon, 
as the man suited to carry out his plans of reforming his 
land. 

Franz Lambert of Avignon was a remarkable charac- 
ter. He was born in 1487 in Southern France, at 
Avignon, that second home of the popes. His father had 
been private secretary of the Catholic Archbishop. But 
he died when Lambert was quite young. His mother 
gave him to the Franciscans to be raised by them. When 
15 years old, he joined their order as a novice, and a 
year later as a monk. Being possessed of a precocious, 
fiery, ardent temperament, he was soon, at the age of 20, 
elected to be apostolic preacher of his order. This office 
led him to travel a great deal from monastery to monas- 
tery. And in his preaching he developed peculiar talents 
for learning and eloquence. He became a modern John 
the Baptist, a second Savonarola, preaching repentance. 
Instead of preaching as did most of the monks about the 
saints, he preached from God's word ; and that not in 



i 

CONVERSION OF LAMBERT. 



53 



Latin, after the custom of the day, but in French, the 
language of the people. No wonder the people heard 
him gladly. His preaching was so powerful, that once 
in a French village, after he had denounced the wicked- 
ness and frivolity of the people, they willingly gathered 
up their cards, dice and pictures, and made a bonfire of 
them, as the Ephesians had done eighteen centuries before. 
But his extraordinary success as a preacher made him 
enemies in his order, who were jealous of him. The 
wickedness of the monks and the want of discipline in 
his own order also disgusted him. Inward peace he did 
not find, in spite of severe self-mortification. So he 
meditated joining another order of monks, the Carthus- 
ians, which was stricter than his own ; the strictest of the 
orders of its day. He was, however, prevented from 
doing so by the calumnies which his brethren scattered 
arouud about him, warning the Carthusians against him. 
It happened that, just about this time, some of Luther's 
letters, which were brought to Lyons and the neighbor- 
hood by merchants with their wares, and were there 
translated, fell into his hands. He read them eagerly. 
But they were taken away from him and burned by the 
monks. Still they set his heart on fire. He sought an 
opportunity to leave his monkish life, and found it in a 
missionary tour to Switzerland. Passing through Geneva 
and Lausanne, he came to Berne, where he first came in 
contact with the reformation. There he was introduced 



54 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

to the new world of Protestantism. Still wearing his 
monk's hood, he preached at Berne in Latin, as he 
could not speak German j and those who understood him, 
especially the priests or ministers of that town, were 
captivated by his eloquence. The people there were 
very much surprised that a French monk should preach 
thus ; as the reformation had heretofore been confined 
mainly to the Germans. He went to Zurich, where he 
met Zwingli, who converted him to an open acknowl- 
edgement of Protestantism. At a disputation there he 
took issue with Zwingli, and spoke in favor of the doc- 
trine of the intercession of the saints. But Zwingli by 
Scripture proofs so convinced him of his error that at the 
close of the disputation, he said, " I declare that the in- 
tercession of the saints is contrary to the Scriptures, I 
give up rosaries and intercessors, and will cling to God 
and Jesus Christ in all my need." He threw off his 
monk's cowl, the first of the French monks to do so. 
Zwingli thus early acquired a great influence over him. 
This intercourse with Zwingli prepared the way for his 
final conversion to the Reformed faith, vears afterward, 
at Marburg. Lambert then went to Germany, hoping 
to meet Martin Luther, whose writings had so impressed 
his soul. He took the name of John Serranus, so as to 
escape the persecutions of his order, which had powerful 
monasteries in Germany. He stopped at Eisenach, 
waiting for the summons of the Elector of Saxony to 



LAMBERT AT WITTENBERG. 



55 



come to Wittenberg. Luther delayed getting him a safe 
conduct, for he had been so often deceived by runaway 
monks. And as Lambert was the first French monk to 
espouse the cause of the gospel, he was all the more 
suspicious of him. Finally the Elector of Saxony sent 
money for Lambert to come to Wittenberg, where he 
arrived in 1523. 

Luther soon learned to admire him, and formed a 
strong attachment for him. As he could not speak 
German, Lambert lectured in Latin on various books of 
the Bible. But he was anxious for the conversion of 
his native land ; and spent much of his time in translat- 
ing evangelical books into Italian and French. He 
also wrote a work on the cloisters which attracted atten- 
tion and which advocated that they should not be closed, 
but turned into schools. He also married (the first 
Franciscan monk to do so) the daughter of a worthy 
baker at Herzberg. But he became very poor. His 
lectures yielded him the merest pittance. He did not 
want to be a burden on Luther any longer ; so, without 
the knowledge of the Elector, and against the advice of 
Luther and Melancthon, he accepted a call given him 
by the Reformed Church at Metz, in March, 1524. 
But when he arrived there, he found that, although the 
Syndic of Metz was favorable to him, the Duke of Lor- 
raine and nine hundred priests of the city were against 
him. The magistrates issued an order against his 



56 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



preaching and threatened him with -the punishment of 
the inquisition. So, as the evangelicals were intimidated 
by these threats, he saw that little work could be done 
for the gospel. He then went to Strasburg, leaving be- 
hind him Castellanus, who was afterwards martyred for 
the faith. At Strasburg he was kindly received. They 
made him a citizen, gave him a competence, so that he 
could maintain himself by lectures and translations. The 
influence of Luther over him lessened, while that of the 
Strasburg doctors increased. Its freer theology widen- 
ed his views and work. He had a great longing to be 
for France, what Luther was for Germany, and Zwingli 
was for Switzerland, the reformer of that land. While 
waiting for providence to open up a way, by which he 
might reform his beloved France, he was invited to 
Hesse by the Landgrave Phillip, that he might under- 
take the reformation of that land. 

The first thing Landgrave Phillip did, was to call a 
great synod of his clergy at Horn berg, a very suitable 
place ; for it was the meeting place of the roads from the 
Rhine, Werra and Main districts. Lambert, just as 
Luther had done at Wittenberg, posted 158 theses under 
23 titles on the church door of St. Mary's church, the 
main church of Homberg, inviting all to a disputation. 
He called these theses ' paradoxes,' because they opposed 
the generally accepted teachings of his day about Cathol- 
icism. The Catholics would have torn them down, 



THE SYNOD AT HOMBERG. 



57 



but the Protestants watched over them. An interesting 
story is told that a young priest, a Dominican, fall of 
self-conceit, finding himself too short to be able to read 
, them, borrowed a stool ; and getting on it, began to read 
them aloud. a All that is deformed, must be reformed. 
The word of God teaches us what ought to be so : and 
all reform that is affected otherwise, is vain." Having 
read this first thesis, the young priest said, " Hem ! I 
shall not attack that." He continued reading the theses, 
saying after each one, " I can not attack that proposi- 
tion." Finally he came to the fourth thesis, which de- 
clared the priesthood of believers and inveighed against 
the pope. " Certainly," said the priest, " I shall not 
attack that one." At this moment some one, either out 
of mischief or tired of his endless repetitions, pulled the 
stool from under him, and he fell flat on the ground. 
This scene very aptly illustrated the fall of Catholicism 
at that Synod. On Sabbath, October 21, 1526, at 
7 a. m., this first Synod of Hesse began its meeting in 
the church. 

It seemed as if all Hesse had come to this meeting. 
The church was filled with prelates, abbots, priests, 
knights and town authorities. Some of them came with 
the intention of denouncing the Landgrave for dar- 
ing to call such a synod without ecclesiastical authority 
from the Elector of Mayence. Some came out of curi- 
osity. But most of them came to favor and uphold the 
5 



58 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Landgrave in his reforms. After an opening address 
by Chancellor Feige, Lambert, in Latin, presented these 
theses against the abuses of the Church, and proved 
them from the Bible. This consumed the morning 
session. In the afternoon Adam Kraft, the oldest re- 
former of Hesse, translated these theses into German. 
Lambert then called for an opponent to dispute, and 
defend the papacy. At first there was a profound 
silence. Many of the Catholics, who, in the morning, 
had threatened and bragged about what they would do, 
left at dinner time. Finally Nicolas Ferber, the head 
of the Franciscan order at Marburg, entered the lists 
against Lambert. Ferber's action was significant. He 
was the head of the order of monks that Lambert had 
left. It was Franciscan against Franciscan. Ferber, 
too, was a very prominent prelate, having been named 
by the Landgrave Phillip's mother as her executor. 
When Phillip was about going over to Protestantism, 
she urged Ferber to use all his influence to hold Phillip 
to Romanism. Ferber, therefore, stood forth as the 
representative of the Roman Catholic power of Hesse. 
Ferber declared he had nothing to do with theologians 
like Lambert. He spoke for two hours, proving from 
papal bulls and decrees of councils that the Landgrave 
had no right to call a Synod. But as he invoked the 
Church fathers to his assistance, the Landgrave observed 
to him, " Do not put forward the wavering opinions of 



DEFEAT OF THE CATHOLICS. 



59 



men, but the word of God, which alone strengthens and 
fortifies our hearts." He finally became so violent that 
he used severe language against the Landgrave. This 
brought him into hot water. He was given time to 
prove his positions out of the Bible, or to retract what 
he had said against the Landgrave. Confused, he sat 
down, saying, "This is not the place for replying." 
Lambert then arose, and, with a torrent of Celtic elo- 
quence, answered him. " In vain did Lambert and Feige 
urge Ferber to reply. Silence is ever Rome's refuge." 
Lambert called forth three times for some one else to 
combat his positions, but no . one replied ; until finally 
John Sperber, of Waldau, near Cassel, said that prayers 
to the Virgin should not be given up. He, too, was 
answered from the Bible. Ferber left Hesse and filed a 
protest against the Synod, at Werlin in Westphalia. 
The Franciscan Church at Marburg was left deserted 
and desolate.* In the defeat of Ferber, the Catholic 
party saw the defeat of its cause. After three days of 
discussion, the new church regulations were adopted. 
The Synod declared that the Bible was the rule of faith. 
It founded itself on the priesthood of all believers, and 
held that the Church was a Church of converted peo- 
ple. In church customs, Lambert, having been af- 
fected by his stay at Strasburg, went farther than Lu- 

*By some curious coincidence it afterward became the Re- 
formed Church of Marburg, I think. 



\ 



60 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ther in his reforms. Images, organs and bells were to 
be put out of the churches, as had been done in Switzer- 
land. One altar was enough for a church (the church 
at Haina having had eighteen altars). Latin singing 
was to be dispensed with, but responses were retained ; 
prayer to the saints was forbidden. The number of fast 
days was diminished. And instead of private confession 
to the priest, a preparatory service, as in the Reformed 
churches, in which a general confession of sin, was insti- 
tuted. On the doctrine of the Lord's supper, the Horn- 
berg decrees were rather Lutheran. 

But the most remarkable deliverance of the Hom- 
berg Synod was in its church government. Lambert 
laid the first foundation of the Reformed Church, not 
indeed in doctrine, but in church government. For he 
does not seem to have been fully converted to theZwing- 
lian doctrines until the Marburg Conference, three years 
later. But he aimed to introduce, what afterward be- 
came Reformed church government. The first Presby- 
terian church was founded, not in Scotland, nor even at 
Geneva, but in Hesse, by Lambert of Avignon, as he 
introduced his church order at this Homberg Synod. 
Each church was to choose its own pastor, elders and 
deacons. The pastors had the government of the church 
vested in their hands, and might exercise doctrine, yes, 
even excommunication. Each year, on the third Sun- 



DECREES OP THE HOMBERG SYNOD. 



61 



day after Easter, a General Synod was to be held, com- 
posed of the bishops (pastors) and the deputies, in which 
the prince and nobles took part ; this Synod to last 
three days. This Synod elected three visitors to inves- 
tigate the condition of each church. As Ranke says, 
" The features of it are the same as those in which the 
French, the Scotch and the A merican Church was after- 
wards established ; upon them we may say the develop- 
ment of North America rests. They have an immeas- 
urable world-historical importance. At the first ex- 
periment they appear in a complete form ; a little Ger- 
man Synod adopted them."* 

Luther objected to certain points in Lambert's church 
government. He thought the church organization had 
been carried too far, and the times were not yet ripe for 
it. And so it turned out. When this Presbyterian 
church government was applied to different parts of 
Hesse, it was found difficult to carry it out. The times 
had not yet come for so radical a change in church gov- 
ernment. The people, just freed from Catholicism, had 
not yet been educated up to the point of managing the 

* Where Lambert received these advanced ideas of church 
government, is a question. Some, as Rischl, hold that he re- 
ceived the ideas of it from his own order of monks. Others, as 
Goebel, that he had been acquainted with the Waldensians and 
received them from them. Ebrard suggests that he must have 
received them from the Bohemian brethren. Suffice it to say, 
he found them in the Bible. — Fisher's History of Reformation, 
page 493. 



62 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

congregation for themselves. It was found hard to get 
elders and to apply this government. It became an 
ideal, rather than an actual, church government. It was 
found necessary to appoint superintendents in each of 
the Synods to carry it out. But the power of the su- 
perintendent did not come from the prince, as in the 
Lutheran Church ; but from the Synod, as in the Re- 
formed. Nor did they have absolute power like the 
Lutheran superintendents, but were under the control 
of the Synod. So its presbyter ial form changed rather 
into a Synodical one ; a government not by elders, but by 
Synods. Still it prepared Hesse for its ultimate recep- 
tion of Reformed doctrine and Presbyterian govern- 
ment. Lambert himself was not able to introduce the 
decrees of the Synod among the churches, as he could 
not speak German. But another field of labor opened 
up for him. 

One of the greatest results of the Hessian reforma- 
tion was the founding of the new University at Mar- 
burg. This was the first University founded without 
Papal sanction. Landgrave Phillip endowed it from 
the proceeds of the sale of the monasteries in Hesse. A 
library had existed at Marburg before the founding of 
the University, and the ' Brethren of the Common Life' 
had organized a school as its forerunner. In this new 
University Lambert was appointed Professor of The- 



LAMBERT AND HAMILTON. 



63 



ology. Here he found a congenial sphere. The Uni- 
versity was opened with great pomp before a great crowd 
of nobles and theologians, on May 30, 1527. In this 
crowd was a young nobleman of Scotland, Patrick Ham- 
ilton, only 23 years of age, who had been driven out of 
his native land by persecution for the gospel's sake. He 
was on his way to Wittenberg to study with Luther. 
But the plague had broken out at Wittenberg, and the 
University had been temporarily moved to Jena. So 
Hamilton turned aside to Marburg, hoping to meet there 
Tyndal, the translator of the English Bible, whose books 
were published at Marburg by the renowned printer 
Hans Luft. Whether Hamilton met Tyndal is not 
known ; but we know that he met Lambert, a man more 
to his taste than^Luther, — a man who, like himself, was 
opposed to half measures in religion. Lambert was at 
once struck with Hamilton's knowledge of the Scrip- 
tures. So he urged him to compose theses on the evan- 
gelical faith, and defend them publicly. This Hamil- 
ton did, in the great hall of the University, in a de- 
fence remarkable for its clearness and beauty, in which 
he explained the gospel with the philosophical elo- 
quence of the Scotch. But Hamilton did not stay long at 
Marburg — only six months. He sighed for his native 
land, and went back there to die, a martyr, for his faith. 

In 1527 the first difficulty arose in Hesse about the 
Zwinglians. Phillip was the bitter foe of Zwinglian- 



64 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

ism and ordered the Zwinglians to leave his land. But 
gradually the Swiss doctrines began to make some im- 
pression on him. In 1528 Ecolampadius and Zwingli 
wrote answers to Luther's doctrines. Zwingli dedi- 
cated his answer the Phillip, and sent it to him. Phil- 
lip began to understand the Swiss better. And when 
the Diet of Spire in 1529 declared against the evangeli- 
cals and compelled them to enter their famous protest, 
the Protestants were compelled to draw closer together 
in spite of their doctrinal differences. Pious John 
Haner, a preacher of Frankford, suggested at Spire that 
both parties of Protestants might be brought closer to- 
gether by a conference. This pleased Landgrave Phil- 
lip, for he hoped to get the support of the Swiss, so that 
they might be a protection against Italy, and also weaken 
the predominance of the Catholics in South Germany. 
So he proposed a conference and invited to it Zwingli 
and Ecolampadius of the Swiss, Bucer and Capito from 
Strasburg, Luther and Melancthon from Wittenberg. 
When Zwingli received the invitation, Capito urged him 
to accept it. He wrote to Zwingli, that if Hesse were 
brought to the true faith, then the other princes of Ger- 
many would be easily won. Zwingli was glad to come. 
But he reminded the Landgrave of the dangers he 
would have to pass through in travelling to Marburg. 
He would have to pass through some of the Catholic 
cantons of Switzerland, and the territories of the Em- 



PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE. 65 

peror of Austria and of the Elector of Mayence, both 
strong Catholic princes. He suggested that the confer- 
ence be held at some intermediate place between Zurich 
and Wittenberg, as Strasburg. ^The Landgrave replied 
that he did not conceal the dangers of the journey, but 
to obviate them in part, he promised an escort from 
Strasburg to Hesse (thus protecting Zwingli from the 
Elector of Mayence), and for the rest, the protection of 
God. Zwingli finally consented, although the city coun- 
cil of Zurich considered the dangers so great that they 
refused to let him go. If Luther had had one-tenth of 
the difficulties to encounter that Zwingli had, he never 
would have come to this conference. 

Luther and Melancthon received the same invita- 
tion, but were unwilling to accept it. Melancthon de- 
sired to have a conference with Ecolampadius, but not 
with Zwingli ; and strangely suggested that the judges 
of the conference should be Catholics, so that the Zwing- 
lians could not boast themselves that they had obtained 
the victory. He requested the Elector of Saxony, 
that as the Landgrave Phillip of Hesse already leaned 
more toward Zwingli than was good for him, to refuse 
to allow Luther and himself to go to this conference. 
But the Elector was anxious for the conference, and 
said his theologians must go — only he desired that the 
conference should be at Nuremberg. So Luther and 
Melancthon prepared to go, although they uttered bit- 
ter complaints to their friends about it. 



66 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Zwingli, without waiting for the Landgrave's safe 
conduct, set out on the third of September, without no- 
tifying the city council, yes, without even telling his 
wife. He was accompanied by the Professor of Greek, 
Collins. He arrived safely at Basle, after travelling in- 
cognito through the Catholic cantons of Switzerland. 
From Basle he and Ecolampadius set out secretly for 
Strasburg. They took passage in an armed boat on 
the Rhine, disguised as ordinary merchants. This pre- 
caution was necessary, as they were passing through 
Austrian territory. The boat was manned by reliable 
merchants, who were to answer all questions from the 
shore, so that the travellers might not be discovered. 
In thirteen hours they arrived safely at Strasburg, 
where they were gladly received and greatly honored. 
Zwingli stayed twelve days at the house of Zell, the ca- 
thedral preacher, and preached in Strasburg with great 
acceptance. On .the 22nd of September, accompanied 
by Bucer, Hedio, and a small escort, Zwingli and Eco- 
lampadius set out for Marburg. To do this, they made 
a wide detour, along by-paths, through forests, over 
mountains and villages, by secret but sure paths, so as 
to avoid the territories of the Catholic Elector of May- 
ence. Much of this journey was through Palatinate ter- 
ritory of Zweibrucken. They travelled past Bitsch, 
Lichtenberg and Meisenheim. On the borders of 
Hesse, on the Hunsruck, they were met by an escort of 



REFORMERS ARRIVE AT MARBURG. 



67 



forty Hessian cavalry. They crossed the Rhine at the 
fortified town of St. Goar, with its castle of Rheinfels 
overlooking it. Then, by way of Giessen, they pro- 
ceeded to Marburg. 

Meanwhile Luther and Melancthon, with Jonas 
and Cruciger, took their way through Halle, Gotha and 
Eisenach to Kreuzberg, where they came to the borders 
of Hesse. Then Luther declared he would go no far- 
ther until the Landgrave had sent him a safe conduct. 
This want of confidence on Luther's part somewhat of- 
fended the Landgrave and helped to alienate him from 
Luther. So while Luther waited, they spent the night 
at Alsfeld, where the scholars came and, kneeling, sang 
hymns before Luther's windows. 

Meanwhile the Swiss arrived at Marburg on Mon- 
day, September 27th. They took quarters at the house 
on the east side of the Bear Spring.* But the Land- 
grave sent word that they should come to the castle. 
He hoped that, if the leaders became personally ac- 
quainted, it would aid the cause of unity. Ecolampa- 
dius preached in the court chapel on the next day on 
the second Psalm. Zwingli preached on Wednesday on 
Providence, Hedio on Thursday. During these days 
that intervened until the arrival of Luther, Phillip got 
into a very friendly intimacy with the Swiss reformers 
and Bucer. The Thursday morning's sermon had hardly 

*It is said that Zwingli put up at the hotel to the Bear, fifty- 
three Barefoot-Friar street. 



68 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



been closed, when the news came that Luther was en- 
tering the town by way of Weidenhausen, and would 
stay at the Bear Hotel on Barefoot Friar street. Bucer, 
Ecolampadius and Hedio at once called on him. The 
Landgrave sent word for him to come and stay at the 
castle.* 

And now for the first time the great reformers of the 
sixteenth century looked each other in the face, and 
shook hands with each other. Phillip wished that, be- 
fore the public conference between the leaders would 
take place, the theologians should have private inter- 
views. So after early service on Friday, Luther and 
Ecolampadius were taken to one room, and Zwingli and 
Melancthon to another. Luther and Ecolampadius 
conferred chiefly on baptism, and Zwingli and Melanc- 
thon on the trinity and the person of Christ. They 
were in the heat of their discussions, when dinner was 
announced. After dinner, Zwingli and Melancthon 
resumed their discussions. On Saturday, October 2nd, 
the public conference was begun in the presence of about 
sixty persons.f This castle was beautifully situated for 

*A tradition says, that as Luther climbed the steps of the 
castle, at each step he called out, "Hoc est," "hoc est." — "This 
is rny body," so as to hold himself true to his doctrine of the 
Lord's supper. 

f A tradition has it, that this conference was held in the beau- 
tiful large Knights Hall, which is now filled with a choice col- 
lection of autographs. But more probably this conference took 
place in the east ing of the castle, where the Landgrave lived. 
It took place in a room right opposite the sleeping apartments 
of the Landgrave. 



THE CONFERENCE AT MARBURG. 



69 



holding such a conference as this. It is placed on a 
hill overlooking the town and the beautiful valley of 
the Lahn, while around it are mountains encircling it 
with beauty. The town at that time was filled with 
visitors ; for the eyes of the world were fixed on this lit- 
tle German town. At this conference the four reform- 
ers sat at a table. Behind them sat the Landgrave of 
Hesse, Duke Ulric of Wurtemberg, the council and 
nobles of Hesse, the Professors of theology, Lam- 
bert of Avignon among them. Chancellor Feige opened 
the conference at 6 A. M. in an address on the necessity 
of union among Protestants. Luther, to strengthen 
himself, wrote with a piece of chalk on the velvet of the 
table before him, "Hoc est corpus meum" ("this is my 
body"). He carried on the controversy for the Lu- 
therans. Very seldom did Melancthon and Brenz 
make any remark. For the Swiss, Zwingli and Eco- 
lampadius both took part. After a preliminary confer- 
ence on the nature of Christ, original sin, justification, 
&c, in which the Lutherans had suspected the Swiss of 
heterodoxy, they came to the main discussion on the 
Lord's supper. We have not time to enter into this 
conference in detail, but only in outline.* Luther 
pointed to the words written before him as an irrefuta- 
ble argument for the bodily presence of Christ in the 

*It is found in full, in D'Aubigne's history of Reformation, 
Vol. IV., page eighty-nine ; in Ebrard's history, page eighty- 
one ; in Hagenbach's Reformation, and other works. 



70 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Lord's supper.* When Luther was urged to explain 
how Christ's body and blood could be in the elements of 
bread and wine, Luther answered that "if God were to 
command him to eat crab-apples, he would eat them 
without asking." He maintained that just as the sword 
was in the scabbard, or beer in a tankard, so Christ's 
body was in the bread. Zwingli then quoted a number 
of Scripture passages, where the sign is described by the 
thing signified. He made a decided impression on the 
audience. Lambert sitting among the Marburg Pro- 
fessors, was violently agitated. He had been of Lu- 
ther's opinion, but now hesitated. A singular misun- 
derstanding incensed Luther against Zwingli. Zwingli, 
in quoting the sixth chapter of John to support his po- 
sition, said to Luther, " That passage breaks your neck, 
Doctor." Luther, taking his words literally, replied 
that they were in Hesse and not in Switzerland, and 
therefore his neck was not in danger. Zwingli hastened 
to explain that he had merely used a colloquial and 
figurative expression for a lost cause. But it angered 
Luther and led to the breaking up of the discussion. The 
conference continued Saturday and Sunday. Luther 

*It is an interesting fact, that Christ never used, that word 
est or esti, about which there has been so much controversy. 
Jesus spoke the Aramaic language, and its construction would 
omit that word. So there was much quarrel about nothing after 
all. And yet while the discussion about a word was useless, 
the discussion of the doctrine revealed a marked difference be- 
tween Luther and Zwingli. 



EFFORTS FOR UNION. 



71 



preached on Sunday morning in the castle cbapel on the 
gospel for the day, 'forgiveness for sin. ? 

This conference was hastened to a close by the sud- 
den appearance of the English plague in Marburg. 
Landgrave Phillip was intensely earnest that some union 
should be acknowledged between the reformers. He 
brought them together to a final conference. Zwingli 
was willing for a union. "There is no one on earth 
with whom I would more desire to be united than with 
you," said Zwingli as he approached Luther. "Ac- 
knowledge them as brethren," said Phillip to the Lu- 
therans. Every heart was touched. The two great 
Churches of the reformation were about uniting. Zwingli 
bursting into tears, approached Luther and held out his 
hand. But no. Luther refused his proffered hand, 
saying to him : "You have a different spirit from ours." 
After continued solicitations the Lutherans only replied 
to them : "You do not belong to the communion of the 
Christian Church. We cannot acknowledge you as 
brethren." The Landgrave then again urged unity on 
them. " We must let the Christian world know that, 
except on the manner of the presence of the body and 
blood in the Eucharist, you are agreed on all the articles 
of faith," he said. This was decided. And Luther 
drew up the ' Marburg articles of faith/ The Luther- 
ans were surprised that the Swiss agreed with them on 
so many points. Luther kept the article ou the sacra- 



72 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



merit until last. On this they could not agree ; but 
finally they came to a compromise.* These articles 
were signed, on October 4th, by Ecolampadius, Zwingli, 
Bucer and Hedio for the Reformed, and by Luther, Me- 
lancthon, Jonas, Osiander, Benz and Agricola for the Lu- 
therans, f Thus the Swiss conceded the presence of Christ's 
body and blood in the sacrament, but not his physical 
presence in the bread and wine. These fifteen Marburg 
Articles were the first Protestant creed of Germany. 
They were the first bulwark erected against Catholicism. 
Though subsequently changed in the interest of Lu- 
theranism at Schwalbach, they became the basis of the 
Augsburg Confession, which was submitted to the Em- 
peror the next year. 

This conference of Marburg had a marked influence 
in many directions. It affected both Luther and Zwingli. 
Zwingli did not hold as offensive views as Luther thought. 
Zwingli found Luther's doctrine not as gross as he sup- 

*They agreed : First, that the Lord's supper must be received 
in both kinds ; second, that the sacrifice of the mass is inad- 
missable ; third, that the sacrament of the altar is the sacrament 
of the body and blood of Christ : although we are not at this time 
agreed as to whether the true body and blood of Christ are 
physically present in the bread and wine .: and recommend 
that each party manifest a Christian love to the other to the ex- 
tent that the conscience of every man shall permit, and that 
both parties entreat God Almighty to confirm us by his Spirit 
in the right doctrine. 

tOne of the two copies made at that time is now, by a happy 
coincidence, in the Knight's room of this castle of Marburg in 
the collection of autographs. 



INFLUENCE OF THE CONFERENCE. 



73 



posed. The conference influenced even the Catholics ; 
for it revealed that the Reformed and Lutherans were 
united on all points, except the Lord's supper. It had 
a marked influence in Germany. It introduced and ex- 
plained Zwinglianism to the Germans. They now knew 
what Zwinglianism meant. The influence of this con- 
ference was felt in Germany even a half a century later, 
when the Reformed Church was introduced. It had 
prepared the way for its introduction. And its influ- 
ence was not only general, but particular, on individu- 
als. Lambert says he went into that conference with 
his soul like a sheet of white paper, on which he wanted 
the finger of God to write the truth. God wrote the 
truth of Zwinglianism on his heart. But he died soon 
after, April, 1530, at Frankenberg on the Eder, to 
which place the University had been removed on ac- 
count of the plague.* Zwingli's doctrines began to be 
propagated in many parts of Germany. Loflards, rector 
of the St. Martins school at Brunswick, and Melander 
and Ibach at Frankford accepted them. In Nurem- 
berg, Durer, the famous painter, became a Zwinglian. 
Augsburg was divided between Luther and Zwingli. 
Even in Wittenberg Zwingli had his disciples. 

But the most marked influence of this conference 
was on the Landgrave Phillip. This conference almost 

**' His tomb is in the Michael's chapel, lying over against the 
St. Elizabeth Church." 

6 



74 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



made Phillip a Zwinglian. He renounced the Lutheran 
doctrine of oral manducation, or the receiving Christ's 
body and blood through the mouth. His counsellor, 
Feige, became a Zwinglian. Phillip tried to form a 
political alliance with the Swiss, Wurtemberg and Stras- 
burg. He opened a correspondence with Zwingli, which 
continued until Zwingli died. Had Zwingli not died 
so soon, and his influence been continued on Phillip, 
Hesse might have been the first land in Germany to re- 
ceive the Reformed faith. Says a writer : " Nothing 
kept Phillip from avowing himself a Zwinglian but po- 
litical scruples/' Luther did all in his power to keep 
him from doing so. 

This conference, in affecting Phillip, affected the 
Hessian Church. Although the Marburg Articles were 
never officially adopted by the General Synod of Hesse, 
yet they brought about a revolution in the Church. The 
persecution of Zwinglians ceased, and the Zwinglians, 
who had been driven out of the country, were brought 
back. Preaching against the Zwinglians was stopped. 
Melander, called from Frankford to Cassel, succeeded 
in getting the pictures put out of the Cassel churches. 
This example was followed in many of the Hessian 
churches. 

At the Diet of Augsburg, in 1530, Landgrave Phil- 
lip was awkwardly placed. He was the only German 
prince who favored the adoption of a confession that 
Bucer and the Swiss could sign. When Melancthon 



Phillip's inclination to the reformed. 75 



wrote the Augsburg Confession, which excluded the 
the Swiss, at first he did not want to sign it. He 
wanted it changed before he signed it. He only signed 
after the earnest solicitation of Luther. But through 
his influence Zwinglianism was not named in the Con- 
fession as a heresy.* 

It is strange to note that afterward, in 1540, when 
Melancthon changed the Augsburg Confession, he 
made the very changes that Phillip had then suggested 
at the Diet of Augsburg. Finally, after having entered 
his protest, Phillip signed the Confession. Afterward, 
at the conference at Frankford, in 1557, he declared he 
was not so bound to the Augsburg Confession that he 
did not think a better one could be made. The Augs- 
burg Confession was not officially adopted by the Hes- 
sian Church, yet it affected that Church ; especially after 
Hesse joined the Smalcald League, whose creed was the 
Augsburg Confession. Still Phillip kept on introduc- 
ing what were really Reformed customs ; for in 1531 
he divided Hesse into six Synods, or as they were then 
called, Dioceses. In 1533 an earnest effort was made to 
introduce church discipline into the Church. When the 
Wittenberg Concord appeared in 1536, Philip was filled 
with joy, and was ever most ardently attached to it, be- 

*Melancthon revealed his timidity on this confession, by- 
conceding to the Catholics certain things ; as episcopacy and 
certain ceremonies. Phillip wrote, "This is not the time for 
weakness, but to stand by the truth till the death." 



76 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

cause it brought harmony between the Lutherans and 
the Reformed. After Zwingli's death, Bucer became 
Phillip's great councillor and advisor. He called Bu- 
cer "our" theologian. Bucer called himself 'the Land- 
grave's chaplain.' But when Bucer left for England, 
and the Augsburg Diet of 1555 had made the Augsburg 
Confession the only legal Protestant confession in Ger- 
many, Landgrave Phillip became a more decided Lu- 
theran ; although in his Lutheranism he was always a 
follower of Melancthon, — a liberal Lutheran. It is a 
noticeable fact, as Heppe says, that the Hessian Church 
was never called Lutheran any more than Zwinglian, 
except as a nickname by the Catholics. Its name was 
' Evangelical,' ' the Reformed' (this word used in its old 
broad sense), 'the Church allied to the Augsburg Con- 
fession.' Those who entered the Hessian Church were 
never required to subscribe the Augsburg Confession, 
but only the three ancient creeds of the Church — the 
Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian creeds. Luther's 
smaller catechism, it is true, was used in the schools, but 
in an amended form. The Cassel catechism was pub- 
lished in 1534. It followed Bucer's views about the 
Lord's supper. Hy peri us also wrote a catechism, which 
was Refoimed, for the upper classes in the schools. And 
although the Hessian Church was then really a Lu- 
theran Church, Zwinglians were allowed in it. Its doc- 
trines were liberal. Reformed ministers were always 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT AND CUSTOMS. 77 

found in it. Geldenhauer, Gamier, Victor, and espe- 
cially Hyperius, 'the father of Homiletics/ were Re- 
formed. The first open charge against any one for be- 
ing a Calvinist was made against Hyperius, in 1561, 
by the high Lutherans. In doctrine, Hesse was Me- 
lancthonian. In church customs it was only half Lu- 
theran. Many of the Lutheran rites, as exorcism, &c, 
were put away. But in church government it was de- 
cidedly Reformed. Hesse attempted the presbyterial 
government. It had,, or attempted to have, presbyteries 
or boards of elders in each church. It had Synods and 
General Synods. But neither in Synods nor General 
Synods do elders seem to have appeared. It is true, 
this presbyterial form of government was somewhat 
modified by having superintendents. But the superin- 
tendent was elected by the dioceses and subject to the 
clergy. So that the government was presbyterial in the 
congregation, and synodical in the upper courts. The 
pre-eminence given to elders at this early stage of his- 
tory was remarkable. At the Lord's supper they stood 
around the table, and saw that no unworthy persons, 
came to the table. Here and there it was the custom 
that the cup at the Lord's supper was handed around 
by some prominent member of the church. At the 
church of Treis the knight, Hermon Schutzbau, handed 
the cup. Thus in the simplicity of its customs, the 
Hessian Church was tending toward the Reformed faith. 



78 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Another significant sign in that direction was the adop- 
tion of predestination by some of the leading theologians 
of the Hessian Church. They held to predestination 
and the perseverance of the saints, long before these 
doctrines became matters of controversy. When in 1561 
Zanchius was attacked at Strasburg by the Lutherans 
for holding the doctrine of predestination, he appealed 
to the theologians of Marburg, and they endorsed his 
position. 

And vet while the Hessian Church was thus insen- 
sibly nearing the Reformed faith, it is remarkable how 
strongly she opposed the introduction of the Eeformed 
faith into Germany by Elector Frederick III. of the 
Palatinate. Phillip took quite an active part against 
its introduction. This he did partly from political rea- 
sons, as he feared it would divide Germany and weaken 
it against the Catholics. He even went so far as to go 
(in spite of his old age) to Heidelberg to visit Elector 
Frederick, and warn him against going over to the Re- 
formed faith. But he failed to keep Frederick from 
doing so. When the Heidelberg catechism appeared, 
his theologians at Marburg gave an unfavorable deliv- 
erance against it, upbraiding it with reducing the ele- 
ments at the Lord's supper into mere signs. 

Thus Hesse was insensibly being prepared for its 
ultimate transition to the Reformed faith. The seed, 
planted by Lambert of Avignon in introducing the Re- 



HESSE BECOMES REFORMED. 



79 



formed church government, followed up by Zwingli's 
appearance at the Marburg Conference, carried on by 
Bucer's influence, and insensibly continued by Melanc- 
thon, by and by burst forth into full bloom, more than 
a half century later. Strange to say, Hesse, which was 
almost the first German land to incline toward the Re- 
formed faith, was almost the last to receive it. Her 
customs remained Lutheran, while her doctrine grad- 
ually became Reformed. It remained for Landgrave 
Maurice the Learned, with his clear head and quick de- 
cision, to put an end to this incongruity between doctrine 
and custom, and make Hesse thoroughly Reformed, as 
he did in 1604-7. 



CHAPTER I.— SECTION IV. 
Lasco and his Preparation, for the Reformed Faith. 

But from a third place there was an influence ex- 
erted on Germany, that prepared the way for the Re- 
formed Church. East Friesland, in northern Germany, 
was the only part of that country, where there existed 
real religious freedom. It, therefore, became an asylum 
for the persecuted of all religions. Anabaptists found a 
home there as well as Reformed and Lutherans. Emden> 
its capital, became * a refuge for God's saints/ 

Emden was the first real Reformed church in Ger- 
many. It was the only part of the German Reformed 
Church that did not come out of Lutheranism. It came 
direct from Catholicism into the Reformed Church. 
The first preacher of Protestantism happened to be a 
Zwinglian. Aportanus, formerly a member of the 
Brethren of the Common Life (those Protestants be- 
fore the Reformation, — the Protestant monkhood in the 
Catholic Church), came to Emden in 1 526. He was made 
tutor in the family of the Duke, preceptor of the young 
Count Edzard, and subsequently pastor of the church 
at Emden. At first he was driven out of the church 
for preaching evangelical doctrines. But the people 



PREPARATION OF FRIESLAND. 



81 



adhered to him, although the priests persecuted him. 
And he preached the gospel in the open air to the gath- 
ering crowds. Aportanus created a great sensation in 
Germany, by introducing the simple rites of the Re- 
formed Church. At the Lord's supper he used merely 
a common table instead of an altar ; and common white 
bread instead of wafers. And he did not lay the bread 
on the mouths of the communicants, as the Catholics 
had done ; but he broke it, and gave it to them in their 
hands. This style of service, unheard of before in Ger- 
many, created a great stir. This tendency toward the 
Scriptural rites of the Reformed faith, was aided by the 
coming of Carlstadt, who has been called, by some, the 
forerunner of Calvinism in Germany. He came to 
Emden about 1529, and for a while exerted a great in- 
fluence on the Frisian Church. Thus East Friesland 
was the only place in Germany, where the Zwinglian or 
Reformed doctrine and mode of worship, was openly per- 
mitted at that time. In 1535, the neighboring Bruns- 
wick-Luneberg pastors made an effort to introduce the 
Lutheran doctrines into Friesland. But they were bit- 
terly opposed. Then came the Wittenberg Concord in 
1536, which brought peace between the Reformed and 
Lutherans. Still there were now two parties found in 
the Frisian Church. The eastern half of Friesland, 
which appertained to Bremen, was more influenced by 
Lutheranism ; while the western part, in close contact 



82 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

with Reformed Holland, was more inclined toward the 
Reformed faith. The Anabaptists had also found a 
refuge in Friesland, and they were bitter against the 
Lutherans for their cannibalistic as they called it, at 
the Lord's supper, in eating the body of Christ. And 
they were bitter against both Reformed and Lutherans, 
for their want of church discipline. So Friesland be- 
came a battle ground between the Reformed, Lutherans, 
Anabaptists and Catholics. This was the condition of 
things, when the Countess of Oldeuberg, a pious but 
weak woman, called John A. Lasco to organize the 
Church in Friesland. 

This distinguished reformer was one of the most re- 
markable characters of the sixteenth century. It is a 
significant fact that here and there we find noblemen 
like Patrick Hamilton and John A. Lasco, who became 
preachers of the gospel, "esteeming the reproach of 
Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for 
they had respect to the recompense of the reward." 

John A. Lasco was born at Lask, his ancestral cas- 
tle in Poland, in 1499. His uncle, who was the Arch- 
bishop of Gnesen, the capital of Poland, was also primate 
of the Polish realm. His uncle occupied, therefore, a 
position next to the king himself ; and if the king died, 
he presided over the government until a new king was 
chosen. Lasco studied for a while at Cracow, living 
there in the splendid palace of his uncle. He went with 



LASCO'S TRAVELS. 



83 



his uncle to Rome to the Laterau council in 1513, and 
then studied at the University of Bologna, but returned 
to Poland in 1518. He rapidly rose in honor, being 
made canon of the Church, and also dean of the Metro- 
politan church at Gnesen. Lasco took a second trip 
abroad in 1523. He went to Basle, where he met Farel, 
the fiery reformer of Switzerland ; then to Paris, then 
back to Basle, where he met Erasmus. Erasmus was 
captivated by his learning, amiability and purity. He 
calls him "a soul without a stain," a very Nathaniel. 
Lasco became an ardent adherent of the humanism of 
Erasmus, and spent his time in liberal studies. These 
began to lead him away from the influence of Pome. 
In passing through Zurich on his way to France, he 
met Zwingli ; and from him received the first impulse 
toward reading the Bible. Thirty years afterward he 
bore testimony to Zwingli's influence in this direction. 
At Basle he also met Ecolampadius and Bullinger. He 
returned home by way of Italy, a humanist or follower 
of Erasmus, but a humanist within the Catholic Church. 
When he returned in 1526, he found that strange ru- 
mors had been circulated about him. He had been liv- 
ing with Erasmus, who was looked upon by many as a 
half heretic. To purge himself of these suspicions, 
Lasco was required to take an oath of purgation.* Lasco 



*This document is still preserved in the privy record office 
at Konigstaerg. 



84 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

was appointed administrator of Gnesen. But his uncle 
died in 1531. He was thus deprived of his strongest 
support in ascending the ladder of ecclesiastical promo- 
tion. Still he continued to rise for seven years after the 
death of his uncle. He was made archdeacon of War- 
saw. This was the last honor Rome placed on his head. 
The king offered him the bishopric of Cujavia. But 
Lasco declined it. He gave up all his honors. He had 
hoped to see the Catholic Church reformed. His hopes 
were blighted. So he threw up all his positions and 
prepared to leave Poland. He hoped that the time 
might come (as it afterward did) when he could preach 
the gospel to his own land. Whither he was going, he 
knew not. His motto was, "the righteous have here 
no fatherland, therefore they seek an heavenly." 

"To me remained no place nor home, 
My country is in every clime ; 
T can be calm and free from care, 
On any shore, since God is there." 

For nineteen years he was a pilgrim, wandering up 
and down in Europe, establishing the Reformed Church 
in Friesland, England and Germany, before he returned 
to Poland to preach the gospel. He went to Frank- 
ford, where he made the acquaintance of his friend Har- 
denberg. He had brilliant offers of political advance- 
ment from the Emperor of Germany, and also from 
King Ferdinand, but he refused them all. He went to 
Louvain, where he became intimate with the Brethren 



THE EMDEN CHURCH. 



85 



of the Common Life, and was more fully influenced by 
the gospel. Finally he completed his break with Rome 
by marrying. As a married priest would not be safe 
at Louvain, he sought a quiet home and found it in 
East Friesland, where he arrived in 1540. In 1543 
he was urged by Count Christopher of Olden berg to ac- 
cept the position of superintendent in Friesland. But 
he refused this first offer, on account of his ill health 
and his ignorance of the Dutch language, and also on 
account of his duty to distant Poland. But after re- 
peated calls, he finally accepted the position under the 
Duchess of Oldenberg. Soon after he entered on his 
duties as superintendent, he had a call from Duke 
Albert of Prussia to Konigsberg to the University 
there. It was a great temptation ; as he would be so 
near his beloved Poland and might influence her toward 
the gospel. But he finally refused the offer, as he found 
that they insisted he should not express his opinions on 
the sacraments and church discipline, on which doctrines 
those Lutherans were suspicious of him. He soon came 
into collision with the Franciscan monks of Friesland. 
He ordered the Franciscans to remove the images from 
their churches. The Franciscans tried to turn the ta- 
bles on him by saying he was a stranger in that land, 
and was trying to introduce strange doctriues. Lasco 
answered them. The Countess wavered between Lasco 
and the Franciscans Then he boldly urged the Count- 



86 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ess to stand up for the truth ; and she bowed before the 
prayers of this bold man. Lasco, in his reforms, aimed 
at nothing short of Zvvinglian simplicity of worship. 
Pictures and all such unbiblical ceremonies as exorcism, 
&c, were put out of the churches. He desired bread 
to be used at the communion ; and if the wine gave out, 
he said another liquid could be used, provided the 
meal was still made a memorial of Christ. He was very 
much opposed to the kneeling position at the Lord's 
supper, because it seemed to him like a worship of the 
bread and wine. He allowed the communicants while 
standing to receive the elements, but afterwards in 
London he required them to receive them while sitting. 
Lasco was a Zwinglian in doctrine, a Calvinist in church 
government. He attempted a splendid organization of 
the Church. In the summer of 1544 he had an church 
order adopted, which required the ministers of the prin- 
cipal church of Emden to appoint four pious men, who 
should watch over the morals of the congregation. They 
w r ere really elders. He also organized the Coetus in 
1544. It was a minister's Monday meeting, for it met 
on Monday. It also had a synodical authority. During 
the summer all the ministers, 200 in number, met each 
week. This Coetus elected a president and secretary 
for the whole summer. Its order of business was prayer 
by the president, inquiry into the doctrines and morals 
of each minister in rotation. Then members of the 



THE COETUS OF EMDEN. 



87 



congregations, who had complaints against any of the 
ministers, brought them before the Coetus. The Coetus 
then proceeded to examine candidates for the ministry 
by inquiring into their lives, and listening to a brief 
conference sermon by them. Then followed a discus- 
sion of doctrine, especially on the controversies of the 
day. Two ministers were appointed to discuss the topic 
appointed, their theses being made known eight days 
before ; so that every one came to the Coetus prepared. 
This Coetus was a blessing to the land. The French 
minister at Emden, Fremaut, said he learned more at 
it, than he had done at the university. This model 
synod exercised a benign influence on the clergy; and 
on the laity, too, who saw their pastors, as well as them- 
selves, subjected to church discipline. This Coetus con- 
tinued forty years, until the reign of Duke Edzard, who 
was inclined to Lutheranism. He suppressed it in 
1583. It was reorganized afterward and (according to 
Goebel and Barteis) still exists. In 1543 Lasco, with 
Bucer, aided Elector Herman of Cologne to introduce 
Protestantism into his county of Wied, on the east side 
of the Rhine, opposite Coblentz. Lasco also visited 
West Friesland in Holland. In 1544 he published an 
epitome of doctrine for the churches of East Friesland. 
In it he reveals his predestination, "that the eternal 
council of God controls all things, that Christ is the 
central point of Christianity ; but God shuts out no one 



88 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



from his mercy. Christ by his death expiated the sins 
of the whole world/' He was, therefore, a predestina- 
rian, but held to the doctrine of the universal atonement 
along with it. Lasco also so influenced the Countess, 
that she issued school regulations, which reveal one of 
the first instances of compulsory school attendance. He 
arranged a catechism in 1546 for Sabbath afternoon 
preaching. It was written in manuscript and passed 
around among the clergy. It divided itself into four 
parts, the commandments, faith, prayer, sacraments. It 
was unlike Calvin's catechism, which divided itself 
into five parts ; placing the scripture between prayer 
and the sacraments. Lasco's catechism was a very 
lengthy one, and was afterwards shortened by him in 
his London and Emden catechisms. Thus, by Lasco's 
exertions, Emden and East Friesland became the model 
for the Dutch and German Reformed Churches ; as 
Geneva had been for the French, English and Scotch 
Churches. But the controversies about the sacraments 
broke out again just before Luther's death. And the 
Lutherans in East Friesland, five or six in number, with 
Lemsius of Norden at their head, banded together 
against Lasco. At first, they would not attend the 
Coetus. They said they were opposed to this presby- 
terial order, because it savored of the Reformed Church. 
The Countess ordered them to attend. They refused to 
obey. They knew that they had influential sympa- 



LASCO GOES TO ENGLAND. 



89 



thizers in some of the courtiers of the Countess, who 
were dissatisfied with the strict church discipline of 
Lasco. So finally, after waiting for months and seeing 
among the pastors neither unity of doctrine nor strictness 
of discipline, Lasco resigned his position as superintendent 
in 1546, asking to be allowed to remain simply as pastor 
of the great church at Emden.* 

But while Lasco was retiring from public life, a call 
came to him from England. Peter Martyr and also 
William Turner, an Englishman, who had been a 
refugee at Emden, recommended him to King Edward 
VI. of England. This young king was looked upon as 
the 'Josiah' of the sixteenth century, who would thor- 
oughly reform his land. He called to his help quite a 
number of Protestant foreigners, as Bucer, Peter Martyr 
and others. Lasco was granted a leave of absence by 
the Duchess, in order to go to England. He travelled 
through Holland, Brussels and Flanders, in disguise, 
(as the imperial officers were on the watch for prominent 
Protestants), until he arrived at Calais, the first English 
port. He spent the winter at Lambeth with the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, Cranmer, aiding him by his advice 

*Lasco, during his stay at Emden, had resided in the Fran- 
ciscan cloister, whose solid walls protected him against the se- 
vere blasts of that northern climate. But now, seeing his op- 
ponents wanted to drive him from his position, he bought, on 
the road from Emden to Aurich, close to Loppersum, a plain 
simple country house in the farmstead of Abbingwehr. 

7 



90 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

in ecclesiastical affairs. Afterward he went back to Em- 
den, his leave of absence having expired. When he ar- 
rived at Emden, he found that the Emperor of Germany 
was trying to introduce the offensive Romish rites of the 
Augsburg Interim into every part of Germany. The 
Countess of Oldenberg was in great anxiety. The peo- 
ple felt their danger. Lasco tried to stem the tide, by 
using his influence against the introduction of the In- 
terim. He also went to Dantzic and Konigsberg to in- 
fluence the Duke of Prussia against it : as well as to get 
near to his beloved Poland ; and from her, secure per- 
mission to go to England a second time. He came back 
to Emden in August, 1549. He found the Countess 
about receiving the Interim. Some of her counsellors 
drew up what was called the Emden Interim, consisting 
of garbled extracts from the Augsburg Interim and the 
Brunswick-Luneburg church regulations. The Emden 
ministers refused to assent to this Emden Interim. Only 
Lemsius at Nordeu and the Lutheran pastors received 
it. The people at Emden supported their faithful 
pastors. As a result the church doors were closed against 
pastors and people, because they would not receive the 
Interim. So the people worshipped in the graveyards, 
which were thronged by greater crowds than ever at- 
tended church. " Here," says Dalton, " in the midst of 
the graves of the departed, the children were baptized, 



LASCO LEAVES EMDEN. 



91 



the affianced couples united in wedlock." The Coetus 
also met weekly, when Lasco tried to strengthen the 
brethren against the Interim. But the imperial court 
determined to get rid of Lasco. So an accusation of 
treason was whispered against him, because he had lately 
been to England, and also in the neighborhood of Poland. 
Lasco then, in October, 1549, bade farewell to Emden 
amid the tears of the people. The Countess, though 
letting him go, bore witness to his faithfulness. He 
went to Bremen, where he received the Lord's supper 
from Timan, the intense Lutheran and the future foe of 
his friend Hardenberg. In April, 1550, he was at 
Hamburg with his friends, where he mingled freely with 
Westphal, who afterwards thundered denunciations 
against him for being a Calvinist, charging him with 
heresy. Finally, after a terrible voyage, in which the 
ship put back three times to Hamburg, and his discom- 
fort was increased by an attack of his old disease, ague, 
he arrived at Lambeth. He was made pastor of the 
foreign Reformed congregation in London, which con- 
sisted of the French, Dutch, German and Italian refugees, 
who had fled from the continent to find an asylum in 
England. In 1548 the Dutch and French had begun 
private worship in a house ; but in 1550 the church of 
St. Augustine (at present called the church of Austin 
Friars) was given to them. They were organized under 



92 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



four pastors, and numbered three or four thousand souls. 
This church was permitted, by a patent from the king, 
to be free from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the bishop 
of London and was allowed to organize herself. This 
gave an opportunity to Lasco to develope his talent for 
organization. And the result was a finely organized 
spiritually-minded church. He put away many of the 
semi-papal ceremonies that still lingered among the 
Protestants of England, and were favored by Cranmer, 
the archbishop of Canterbury. He put away pictures, 
candles, altars, bells, organs, and kneeling at the com- 
munion, which he considered half idolatry of the sacra- 
ment. He introduced the sitting posture at the com- 
munion, and had the communicants seated around a 
table. But when in other churches, he communed with 
them after their own fashion. Cranmer wanted the 
ministers to wear the priestly vestments or robes during 
service, but Lasco desired no special fashion of clothing 
for the ministry.* His sad experience under the Interim 
in Germany had sharpened his opposition to all these 
so-called adiaphora or semi-papal customs. The early 
refugees at London had brought with them their own 
liturgies and catechisms from the continent. The French 
used Calvin's catechism and the Genevan liturgy, and 
sang Marot's Psalms. The Dutch leaned more to the 
Emden catechism and the Zurich church order. From 



^Bartels, page 35. 



LASC0 7 S CHURCH AT LONDON. 



93 



these Lasco drew up a new one, which was very remark- 
able as the first introduction of pure presbyterian church 
government. The first Presbyterian church was a Re- 
formed church — the Dutch Reformed church of Lon- 
don. In it there were three officials — elders, deacons 
and doctors. The elders and doctors were elected for 
life, and the deacons for a year. Lasco was the first to 
notice the two kinds of elders, teaching and ruling eld- 
ers. The duty of the doctors was to foster the study 
and knowledge of the Scriptures. Instead of the Coetus, 
as at Emden, they had a weekly prayer meeting. The 
congregation, after a day of prayer, elected its own offi- 
cers. It will be noticed that, in this church govern- 
ment, Lasco differed from Calvin. Lasco's church or- 
der was a development of the church orders, which he 
found were used by his congregation. But he improved 
on them, and even improved on Calvin's. Calvin's was 
aristocratic Presbyterianism ; Lasco's democratic Pres- 
bvterianism. Calvin did not aim at a separation of the 
Church and State. He wished that each should be in- 
dependent of the other in its sphere, but the one should 
be a help to the other. And under Calvin the congre- 
gation was not the possessor and manager of their own 
affairs. They could not freely elect their own officers 
without interference from State or consistory. Nor did 
Calvin concede the equality of the elders with the min- 
isters. . But Lasco granted freedum to the congreg ition 



94 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

to choose its own officers, and also equality of the elders 
with the ministers. Lasco, in addition to his labors of 
church organization, also printed a compend of doctrine 
in his London catechism, which was an abridgement of 
his Emden catechism. But in Emden it had existed 
only in manuscript form ; now in London it was printed. 
Lasco was not destined to remain long in London, 
not more than four years, before he had to take up his 
pilgrim's staff again and leave for other shores. King 
Edward VI. died, and bloody Queen Mary ascended 
the English throne and reintroduced Catholicism by 
force and persecution. Lasco and his congregation had 
to flee. But whither should they go ? They looked 
toward Denmark, whose king, in disposition, was very 
much like the late Edward VI. of England ; and so 
Lasco, a second Ulysses, began his wanderings again. 
It was determined that, with a part of his congregation, 
he should go to Denmark and arrange for an asylum for 
the refugees ; and that then the others would follow. 
So, on the 17th of September, 1553, a sad sight was 
seen at Gravesend, as the travellers, 170 souls, mostly 
Dutch, set sail in two Danish ships. A great number 
of the men and women of Lasco's congregation went 
with them to the shore, and wept at their departure. 
Those on shore followed them with their eyes as long 
as they could see them ; and when the English fog came 
in and hid them from sight, they began singing a psalm, 



THEY SAIL FOR DENMARK. 



95 



which sounded over the waves as their sad final fare- 
well. The refugees expected to find a cordial welcome 
at Copenhagen. Bucer had once been called to Copen- 
hagen, in ] 549, and Sturm had hoped to get Peter Mar- 
tyr elected as Professor at Copenhagen. They, there- 
fore, supposed that the Danish court, though Lutheran, 
would not be opposed to those who were Reformed. 
How bitterly were they doomed to disappointment. Af- 
ter a terrible voyage, in which a storm separated their 
vessels, the vessels came together in the harbor of Elsi- 
nore in Denmark. Here, according to Shakespeare, a 
ghost appeared to Hamlet. But a worse ghost appeared 
to these fleeing Protestant Reformed people ; a real one, 
as they landed on those shores of Denmark. The ghost 
of high Lutheranism appeared with terrible power and 
persecution. While Lasco, with Micronius and Uten- 
hoven, sought the king of Denmark at his palace at 
Kolding in Jutland, so as to get permission for the refu- 
gees to settle in Denmark ; the rest of the emigrants 
sailed for Copenhagen. Lasco's first experience at 
Kolding was not very propitious. Before he and his 
companions were allowed to see the king, they were 
compelled to listen to a sermon, on Phil. 3:17, by court 
preacher Noviomagus. They had expected him to act 
as their intercessor before the king. Instead of that, he 
became their accuser. In this sermon he called them 
fanatics, heretics, sacramentarians, liars of the true pres- 



96 



THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ence, "whose end is damnation." Noviomagus after- 
ward urged the king to send them adrift. The king at 
first received them kindly, and after several interviews, 
told them that they would be allowed to settle in his 
territories, if they would conform to the Lutheran rites 
of the Danish Church. But the rites of the Lutheran 
Church in Denmark seemed to them a reproduction of 
the rites of the Anglican Church in England, which 
they disliked. Their robes and altars and bishops were 
just what these refugees had, all the time, been protest- 
ing against. They replied that they could not conscien- 
tiously conform to these customs. They were, therefore, 
ordered to leave the land. Lasco then pled that they 
might at least be allowed to winter in Denmark, as the 
winter was severe. But even this was refused. The 
refugees pled that no one would refuse a Turk, yes a 
dog, at that season. They pled to be allowed to stay 
two months : this being refused, one month, then four- 
teen days, so that they could buy clothes and the neces- 
saries of life, and then they would depart. But this 
was refused. Neander draws a parallel to this from the 
history of the early Christian Church. During the 
Monophysite controversy of the fifth century, between 
Antioch and Alexandria, a number of Egyptian wood- 
cutters were compelled to land at Tyre. But so great 
was the bitterness between the schools of Syria and 
Egypt, that they were forbidden to land, lest they should 



PERSECUTIONS BY THE LUTHERANS. 97 



pollute the land with heresy. The Lutherans of Den- 
mark and North Germany likewise refused to receive 
their Reformed brethren, although of the same German 
blood and same Protestant faith. To make the condi- 
tion of the refugees worse, while they were at Copenha- 
gen waiting for news from Lasco, the plague broke out. 
This disease was looked upon by the Lutherans as an 
affliction of Providence sent on Copenhagen for harbor- 
ing such heretics as the Reformed. But looked upon as 
a sign of God's Providence, it pointed the other way ; 
for not one of the refugees, even in their sad condition, 
took the plague ! while the citizens of Copenhagen did. 
If it were an affliction of God, it was an affliction of 
God on those Lutherans for their want of brotherly 
courtesy, in refusing a refuge to the Reformed. The 
refugees were compelled to leave Copenhagen. Lasco's 
two sons were first allowed the privilege of wintering in 
Denmark. But afterwards, in the midst of a severe 
frost, they were obliged to share the sad fate of the other 
refugees. To escape, they, with their tutor, came near 
losing their lives in the ice packs, as they fled over the 
ice to the refugees. Out into an angry sea, into a terri- 
ble winter, those poor refugees were hurried. As they 
sailed, a terrible storm greeted them, followed by frost 
and snow storms. They entered different harbors to es- 
cape from the storms, but all the harbors were closed 
against them, because of the plague that had been rag- 



98 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ing at Copenhagen, and because of their still greater 
plague of Reformed heresy. The three ships were finally 
permitted to land safely, by Christmas time, at Rostock, 
Wismar and Lubeck. Duke John Albert of Mecklen- 
berg invited them to stay at Wismar. But his preach- 
ers soon stirred up the people and effected the recall of 
permission to stay. The general experience of the refu- 
gees was, that the magistrates and the people pitied them 
at first, until the ministers stirred them up against them. 
Curtius, the superintendent at Lubeck, called them 
heretics, and was anxious to have them expelled. At 
Hamburg, where they arrived over-land in March, 
1554, they fared even worse. Westphal, the minister 
at Hamburg, had called them ' martyrs of the devil so 
the citizens of Hamburg were forbidden, under heavy 
penalties, to take any of them into their houses. Like 
hunted game, they were driven out into the neighboring 
villages. One of the villages received them over night in 
a shed. They were, like David, hunted like a partridge 
over the hills. But although rejected by the Danes 
and North Germans, sympathy came to them from other 
quarters. Gustavus, King of Sweden, in spite of their 
difference of language and religion, invited them to an 
asylum in his land. Finally, by Easter, 1554, the ex- 
iles reached Emden, whither Lasco had gone before 
them. There they were gladly received, the Lutherans 
saying not a word against them. But Lasco did not 



LASCO AT EMDEN. 99 

remain long at Emden. The Countess, though she re- 
spected him, yet feared that his decided opposition to 
altars, organs and baptismal fonts would make trouble. 
The high Lutherans charged that he had changed his 
doctrines while he was in England. He published a 
catechism in 1554, an abbreviation of the former Emden 
catechism. Micronius also published a shorter catechism 
for those who expected to come to the Lord's supper. 
This Emden catechism raised a storm in Emden, and 
hastened Lasco's departure. Melancthon looked on him 
with a little suspicion, since he had been in England. 
And even his old friend Hardenberg became cool toward 
him, because he suspected him of being a renegade from 
Lutheranism. So Lasco left Emden in April, 1555, 
and went to Frankford, where he was kindly received. 

The scene now shifts from Emden to Frankford on 
the Main, that great, wealthy free city of western Ger- 
many. Lasco had become a leader in the Netherland 
churches, and his presence introduces us to the refugee 
Reformed churches that sprang up in different parts of 
Germany, and which were an important factor in mak- 
ing Germany Reformed. The history of these refugee 
congregations at Frankford gives us an interesting 
glimpse into the custom of those early Reformed churches. 
The refugees from England and Holland began to come 
to Frankford in 1554. Their first services were held in 
private houses. Then the church of the White Lady 



100 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

was given them as their place of worship. In the next 
year the Holland congregation of London joined this 
French church ; and a month later an English congre- 
gation from London, under Whittingham, arrived. At 
first the Lutheran city churches were on the most 
friendly terms with the refugees. As these foreign con- 
gregations grew liturgical, differences between them soon 
caused strife. The English church asked the city for 
the use of another church. As the cloister of St. Cath- 
arine was occupied by only one nun (the rest having 
married), they asked the magistrates for the use of it. 
The city authorities at first refused to grant it, but after- 
wards conceded to them the church of All Saints, then 
unused. The English congregation was required not to 
use the English liturgy, but to conform to the French 
mode of worship. So they agreed to omit the litany, 
the responses, the surplice, and other ceremonies, " which 
in the Reformed churches would seem more than strange, 
or which were superstitious and superfluous." They 
proceeded to elect three pastors. One of them was John 
Knox, whom Calvin urged to come to Frankford. Knox 
came from Geneva in November, 1554. When Knox 
came, he already found two parties in the English 
Church. One party favored the use of the English lit- 
urgy with all its responses and vestments. The other, 
headed by Whittingham, was puritanical and opposed 
them. Knox, when he came, said he could not admin- 



KNOX AT FRANKFORD. 



101 



ister communion according to the English liturgy, but 
he offered to preach for them. He wrote a temperate 
letter to the congregation in the interest of the Puritan 
party ; and a committee drew up a shorter form of ser- 
vice, modeled after the Genevan liturgy. But this did 
not give entire satisfaction, so it was modified by adapt- 
ing certain parts of the prayer book. This was trans- 
lated into Latin and sent to Calvin, who replied that he 
could not but condemn the policy of those, who held to 
" the tolerable fooleries of the English liturgy." This 
form was used until March, when Cox, one of Cranrner's 
helpers in publishing the English liturgy, and tutor of 
the late King Edward of England, arrived. The first 
day that he attended church service, he, and those with 
him, broke out into responses. The elders admonished 
them, when they boldly replied, " that they would do as 
they had done in England, and they would have the face 
of an English church/' " The Lord grant it to have 
the face of Christ's church," said Knox afterward, " and, 
therefore, I would have had it agreeable in outward 
rites and ceremonies, with Christian churches reformed." 
The next Sunday one of Cox's companions got into the 
pulpit without the knowledge of the pastors or congre- 
gation, and read the litany, Cox and his companions 
joining in the responses. It happened that it was 
Knox's duty to preach that Sunday afternoon, and he 
severely reprimanded them. A meeting of the congre- 



102 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



gation was held. At this meeting the friends of the 
liturgy held that Cox and his companions ought to vote. 
This was improper, as they had not yet been received as 
members of that church. But Knox, sure of the truth 
of his cause, and anxious to remove prejudice, asked 
that they be admitted. This gave the majority against 
Knox. And, as so often happens in such cases, they 
turned against their opponents; and Cox discharged 
Knox as the reward for his kindness. The friends of 
Knox then complained to the city authorities that the 
French liturgy, which was without the responses of this 
English liturgy, should be restored. But two of Cox's 
party, in reply, went to the city authorities and accused 
Knox of high treason against the Emperor of Germany. 
They showed one of Knox's books entitled " Admoni- 
tion to England," in which was a passage addressed to 
the inhabitants of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, when 
it was reported that Queen Mary was to marry King 
Phillip of Spain, the heir of the Emperor of Germany.* 
In this book Knox seems to have compared the Emperor 
to Nero, as an enemy of Christ, in his persecutions of 
Protestants. When the magistrates of the town heard 
this accusation, they were perplexed to know what to 
do ; for they were satisfied of Knox's innocence, and yet 
they feared the Emperor's wrath, if this news should 

*This match was opposed in England even by the Catholics, 
and Knox had written his protest against it in this book. 



LASCO AT FRANKFORD. 



103 



reach his ears at Augsburg. So they sent to Whitting- 
ham, and asked him quietly to request Knox to depart. 
On the 25th of March, after a brief pastorate of five 
months, Knox delivered a consolatory discourse to 
about fifty of the congregation, who had assembled at 
his lodgings; and the next day he left for Geneva. 
Afterwards the magistrates granted the English congre- 
gation the use of the English liturgy ; but, for this, they 
had to make concessions, giving up private baptism, 
confirmation of children, saint's days, kneeling at the 
Lord's supper, linen surplices of ministers, crosses and 
other things of like character. Whittingham and the 
greater part of the English colony afterward went to 
Geneva, and there chose Knox as pastor. This breach 
at Frankford was the beginning of dissent in the Eng- 
lish church, a miniature prophecy of the future troubles 
between the Episcopalians and Puritans in England. 

Such had been the state of affairs at Frankford when 
Lasco arrived. The dissension in the English church 
had spread to a dissension between the German churches 
and the foreigners. Already before Lasco's arrival the 
guilds or trades in Frankford began to become jealous 
of the ingenuity and prosperity of these foreigners. 
Westphal of Hamburg wrote a communication to the 
magistrates at Frankford, warning them against these 
foreign Reformed as heretics. Frankford had been a 
city that had sympathized with the low Melancthonian 



104 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

or Zwinglian views; so that in August, 1555, Calvin 
had dedicated his commentary on the first three gospels 
to that city. They generously returned thanks for that 
honor and sent a present of fifty gold florins to Calvin. 
But just before the coming of the refugees, Beyer, a 
strong Lutheran, aroused the city to high Lutheran ism. 
The Diet of Augsburg, in 1555, had decided that only 
Catholicism and Lutheranism had a right to exist in 
Germany. This strengthened the high Lutherans. And 
when Westphal wrote against the Reformed as heretics, 
it roused the city clergy. As early as September, 
1555, the Frankford ministers brought complaint to the 
city against the refugees, that they taught heresy. And 
Lasco, when he arrived, was compelled to sign the Augs- 
burg confession ; which he was perfectly willing to do, 
as he found nothing in it about the new doctrine of 
ubiquity. Lasco, in his anxiety for the welfare of the 
Dutch church in Frankford, went from prince to prince 
in Germany, interceding for them. He went to Land- 
grave Phillip of Hesse and Elector Otto Henry of the 
Palatinate. He plead for sympathy for them and for the 
unity of the Church. He wanted to be a new reformer, 
to unite the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches in 
Germany, as Bucer had done before him. He aimed to 
unite Lutheranism and Zwinglianism on the basis of 
Calvinism. By this middle position of Calvinism he 
hoped to gain a place for his refugee churches in Ger- 



LASCO AND CALVIN AT FRANKFORD. 105 



many. But his efforts were a sad failure. He came 
to Duke Christopher of Wurtemberg, Brenz, the leader 
of the Lutheran church of Wurtemberg, and, after 
Melancthon, the most influential Lutheran in Germany, 
had been a Melancthonian ; and Lasco hoped to win 
him to unity by a conference held at Stuttgart in May, 
1556. But instead of bringing unity, it brought dis- 
cord ; for this conference opened Brenz's eyes to the 
dangers of Calvinism, that lurked in the Augsburg Con- 
fession. This conference committed him against Me- 
lancthon and his party. From that day Brenz became 
an intense high Lutheran.* The city ministers of Frank- 
ford now began preaching against these Reformed for- 
eigners. Calvin, hoping to intercede for them, came to 
Frankford in September, 1556. He preached in the 
church of the White Lady and baptized there, but visited 
none of the Lutheran ministers. Still such was his 
influence in Frankford that he addressed an assembly of 
ministers in Romer Hall, where the Emperors of Ger- 
many were elected and crowned. There this uncrowned 
king of theology interceded for the refugees. Calvin 
left Frankford in October, and the English and French 
refugees were allowed to remain, but they had to sub- 
scribe to the Augsburg Confession. Lasco left Frank- 
ford to go back to his native Poland, and introduce the 

*Thus, while the Lutherans under Flacius were digging a 
grave for themselves in ducal Saxony, Wurtemberg took up 
high Lutheranism and saved it. 

8 



106 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

reformation there. On his way homeward he learned 
to know Melancthon and Ursinus at Wittenberg ; and 
only regretted that his time with them was so short. 
John A. Lasco was one of the finest characters among 
the reformers. Strong in his convictions, he was yet 
liberal in his sympathies. Sacrificing wealth and posi- 
tion, this nobleman-preacher wandered, a refugee for 
the cause of Christ. Perhaps he did more to introduce 
the Reformed faith into different lands in Europe than 
any other reformer. After the departure of Lasco, these 
refugees were allowed to remain at Frankford, through 
the influence of Landgrave Phillip of Hesse and Elector 
Otto Henry of the Palatinate, who were Melancthonians 
and liberal Lutherans. When the conference of nobles 
met at Frankford in 1557, these refugees laid before 
them their confession of faith ; and the conference de- 
cided to protect them. But the high Lutherans began to 
storm against them. The English went back to England 
in 1558, after Queen Mary's death, and the accession of 
Elizabeth to the throne. In 1562 the refugees were all 
ordered away, because they were Reformed. Some went 
to the neighboring province of Hanau. Others remain- 
ed in the city and attended worship at Bockenheim in 
Hesse, just outside of Frankford. A second colony 
went to Hanau in 1597. Later, in 1661, those remain- 
ing in Frankford were granted permission to build a 
church before the gate, where they could hold service and 



DRIVEN OUT OF FRANKFORD. 



107 



celebrate the Lord's supper ; but they had no other privi- 
leges. This congregation afterwards united with the 
Hanau Reformed churches.* But the most important 
link in this history was a colony of sixty families who 
went under Dathenus to the Palatinate and settled at 
Frankenthal, near Heidelberg, at the junction of the 
Rhine and Neckar rivers. This colony introduced the 
Reformed faith for the first time into the Palatinate. It 
gave those Palatines an idea of the strict church dis- 
cipline and simplicity of the worship of the -Reformed 
faith. Because he had met Lasco at Wittenberg, Ursi- 
nus afterward felt an interest in this flourishing colony 
of foreigners. It is worthy of note that these Dutch 
colonists brought with them Lasco's catechism and called 
attention to it in the Palatinate ; and thus prepared the 
way for the use of this catechism in the composition of 
the Heidelberg catechism. 

*Only as late as 1792-3 was the erection of a Reformed church 
allowed in Frankford. And that was not allowed to appear like 
a church, only like a chapel or ordinary house. 



CHAPTER I.— SECTION V. 



Melancthon and his Preparation of Germany for the He- 
formed Church. 

Melancthon was one of the leaders of Lutherauism. 
He was also a forerunner of the Reformed faith in Ger- 
many. Although he never belonged to the Reformed 
Church, still his influence prepared Germany to receive 
it. The followers of Melancthon would probably have 
remained Lutheran ; but the attacks of the high Lu- 
therans drove the Melaucthonians out of the Lutheran 
Church into the Reformed. In thus preparing the way 
for the Reformed faith, the influence of Melancthon was 
not a local influence, like those mentioned before. But 
it was rather a national influence — affecting all Ger- 
many. It was a mental influence — an influence of 
thought, rather than of place, preparing the people for 
the liberal views and simple worship of the Reformed 
Church. 

Melancthon was a native of the Palatinate, having 
been born at Bretten in 1497. His name Schwartzerd 
(black earth) was, according to the custom of the day, 
latinized into Melancthon. As a boy he was exceed- 
ingly precocious. At Pforzheim, the home of his grand- 



MELANCTHON AND LUTHER. 



109 



mother, he received a liberal education under Reuchlin, 
one of the leaders of humanism. He fired Melancthon's 
zeal for the new sciences. At thirteen years of age, 
Melancthon entered Heidelberg university ; at fourteen, 
he was made bachelor of arts ; at sixteen, he published 
a Greek grammar ; at seventeen, he was made master of 
arts, then a lecturer at the university in Tubingen at 
seventeen. After such a career of precocity, he crowned 
it at the early age of twenty-one, by entering on his life- 
work as a professor at Wittenberg. Before he went to 
Wittenberg, while a decided adherent of the reformation, 
he was yet more of a classical scholar than a theologian. 
As one says, " without Luther he would have been a 
second Erasmus." But his intercourse with Luther 
deepened his spiritual nature and made a theologian out 
of him. He did not possess the popular gifts of Luther ; 
but he excelled him in scholarship. Luther gained the 
common people to the Reformation, Melancthon attracted 
the scholars. Luther was the scholastic, Melancthon the 
humanist ; Luther the converted monk, Melancthon 
the converted scholar.* He was a man of broader views 
than Luther, but lacked his decision ; and was, at times, 
timid and vacillating. He was called the i preceptor or 
teacher of Germany.' He has the honor' of publishing 
the first book on Protestant theology, his Loci Communes 

*Dr. Schatf says : " Luther was conclusive and exclusive, 
Melancthon exhaustive and liberal." 



110 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



or common-places, published in 1521, (fifteen years be- 
fore Calvin's Institutes were published.) This book on 
theology grew out of his lectures on Romans.* He oc- 
cupied the rare position of being the leader of the Prot- 
estants in nearly all the negotiations with the Catholics ; 
Luther having been debarred from such a position, be- 
cause he had been excommunicated from the Church. 
So Melancthon became the leader in Protestant diplo- 
macy. At Spire he aided in drawing up the famous 
protest that gave to Protestants their name. In com- 
pany with Luther, he went to Marburg, where he met 
Zwingli. But he never seemed to fancy Zwingli. The 
views of the Swiss were too radical for him. He was 
inclined, sometimes, to impute Zwingii's views to a spe- 
cies of insanity. With Ecolampadius he agreed much 
better, and formed a close intimacy. Melancthon ap- 
pears to his greatest advantage at the Diet of Augsburg 
in 1530. There he stood forth as the great representa- 
tive of Protestantism. He drew up the Augsburg Con- 
fession, a monument of ability and learning. It was 
signed by Saxony, Brunswick-Luneberg, Hesse, Anhalt 
and the cities of Nuremberg and Reutlingen. It was 
a master piece, written when Melancthon was in the 

*This work, says a writer, is not to be compared with Cal- 
vin's Institutes, either in its arrangement, solidity of proof, 
strength of argument, and completeness of system. It was 
rather dialectic than speculative, practical than theoretical. He 
emphasized the ethical rather than the mystical in religion. 



MELANCTHON AT AUGSBURG. 



Ill 



zenith of his power and influence, almost eclipsing Lu- 
ther. It is, however, to be remembered that this Con- 
fession was not drawn up to be a creed, but to be a basis 
of negotiations with the Catholics. It was not an ec- 
clesiastical, but a civil creed. But it afterwards became 
a theological creed, because the Emperor treated the 
Protestants through it, and they were compelled to ac- 
cept it as the creed of their churches. When the Smal- 
cald League was formed, it was accepted by the Prot- 
estant states of Germany, who organized that league 
under it. In this Augsburg Confession the article 
about the Lord's supper is strongly Lutheran, and was 
aimed against Zwinglianism, although Zwinglianism is 
not mentioned in it. But, while it rejected Zwinglian- 
ism, it was not aimed against that higher view of the 
sacraments called Calvinism ; for Calvinism had not 
appeared as yet. Calvinism is only a fuller expression 
of Zwinglianism. So that the Calvinists afterward 
could claim that they were under the protection of the 
Augsburg Confession, because they could subscribe to 
its doctrines of the Lord's supper, especially in the later 
edition of 1540. After this Diet of Augsburg, Melanc- 
thon retired to Wittenberg. His political duties being 
over for a time, he betook himself more than ever to 
study. And now a change gradually came over him 
in his theological position. He began to lower his 
views on the Lord's supper and separate himself from 



112 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the high Lutheran doctrine. Ecolampadius' 'dialogue/ 
in which he quoted the church fathers to support the 
Reformed views, made a deep impression on him. (This 
book Melancthon received while at Augsburg.) Melanc- 
thon was also influenced, (according to Bucer's state- 
ments), by his correspondence with Ecolampadius. 
Bucer's unwearying efforts toward union, made between 
1 530 and 1536, also affected him. The result of all these 
influences was, that in 1534, when he met Bucer at 
Cassel to prepare the way for what afterward became 
the Witteuberg Concord, Melancthon gave up the 
Lutheran doctrine of oral manducation, or the receiving 
of Christ's body and blood through the mouth, at the 
Lord's supper. Luther, when he sent Melancthon to 
Cassel to treat with Bucer about union with the Re- 
formed, gave him strict orders not to recede from this 
doctrine of oral manducation in his negotiations with 
Bucer. But individually he did recede. Still he stated 
Luther's views instead of giving his own. He said to 
Camerarius, his bosom friend, " Ask me not in reference 
to my view ; for I am merely the messenger of some 
friend." Outwardly he remained in harmony with the 
Lutheran Church ; but when he signed the Wittenberg 
Concord in 1536, he acknowledged that Calvin's view of 
the Lord's supper could be tolerated. His opposition 
to the doctrine of oral manducation finally led him to 
his later opposition to the doctrine of ubiquity. He 



melancthon's changes of doctrine. 113 



gradually drifted more and more from Luther's position, 
and from high Lutheranism. In the second edition of 
his ' Loci Communes' or theology, he began to maintain 
that the will of man had something to do with conver- 
sion.* He thus became synergistic. He held that, 
although God alone can save men, yet men have the 
power to accept and work along with God's will. He 
was not a semi-Pelagian, because he ascribed the be- 
ginning and end of conversion to God's grace. But he 
was a lower predestinarian than Luther or Calvin. As 
a result of this view, he held that conversion was not a 
mere mechanical process, but a moral change wrought 
by God's Spirit, man's will consenting to it. After 
having thus changed his views, he not only altered his 
Loci Communes, but be also altered the Augsburg Con- 
fession to suit his views. He left out the word 'sola' in 
the clause which declared that we are saved by faith 
'alone.' He thus implied that we are saved not only 
by faith, but that works had a place in the gospel. He 
also changed the article about the Lord's supper. He 
changed the word 'distribute' to 'exhibit.' He thus 
said that Christ's body was exhibited, as Zwingli had 

*" In 1527 he gave up determinism at Leipsic, for the Infralap- 
sarian views. In 1532 he gave up Infralapsarianism, and in 
1535 he became synergistic, and held that the will of man works 
along with the will of God in conversion. In the first edition of 
his theology, he called the doctrine of free will a godless doc- 
trine. But later he held that man's will consented to, and con- 
spired with, the grace of God." 



114 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

declared ; rather than distributed, as Luther had taught * 
The Elector of Saxony afterwards censured Melancthon 
for altering the Augsburg Confession thus. Tradition 
has it, that Luther said, " Phillip, Phillip, you do not 
right to change so often the Augsburg Confession. It 
is not your's, but the Church's book."f But, although it 
would seem strange for any single individual to alter a 
Church creed now, it was not unusual in that day. The 
Augsburg Confession had never been adopted officially 
by a Church synod. It was merely a basis of negotia- 
tions with the Catholics ; and if the Catholics did not 
object to the change, the Protestants did not need to. 
Luther did not need to complain of Melancthon's 
changes ; for Melancthon's alteration was merely a 
copy of the Smalcald Articles as composed by Luther 
in 1537, which set forth the doctrine of the Lord's sup- 
per in a form which allowed room for Melancthon's po- 
sition. Amsdorf at that time urged Luther to alter his 
phraseology in favor of a higher Lutheran position. 
But Luther did not do it. Amsdorf's suggestion was 
dropped, to be taken up and urged by the high Luther- 
ans after Luther's death, when the high Lutheran views 
were expanded in the Formula of Concord. 

*The Reformed could now subscribe to the Augsburg Confes- 
sion as well as the Lutherans. Zwingli could now sign this al- 
tered confession, except, perhaps, the word 'truly' in the article 
on the Lord's supper. Calvin did sign the confession. 

fThis tradition, according to Herzog, is apochryphal. 



MELANCTHON AND CALVIN. 



115 



But although these changes were made in the Augs- 
burg Confession, they were hardly noticed, or, if noticed, 
were supported by the Protestants. This altered Augs- 
burg Confession, as it was called, was used by the high 
Lutherans for twenty years in conferences, diets and 
churches without opposition. Indeed, the old or un- 
altered Augsburg Confession had so entirely disappeared 
that, when Count Augustus of Nassau, in 1680, wanted 
to get a copy of it, he had to go to the Catholics for a 
copy. The Elector of Mayence loaned him the original 
copy given at Augsburg in 1530, which had been placed 
in the royal archives at Mayence.* And now occurred 
another event that greatly influenced Melancthon's 
views. It was his meeting with Calvin. He met Cal- 
vin at the conferences at Frankford and Worms. Me- 
lancthon there had his eyes opened to see the differences 
between what Lutherans supposed to be Zwingli's doc- 
trine of the Lord's supper and Calvin's. He saw that 
Calvin was higher than he thought Zwingli had been. 
During the years that had elapsed since Luther met 
Zwingli at Marburg, Calvin had developed the views of 
the Reformed Church upward, while Melancthon had 
been toning down the Lutheranism of the Lord's sup- 
per. They, therefore, neared each other. Calvin, too, 

*The 'altered' Augsburg was also called the 'enlarged,' 
'improved' confession. Only in 1561 did the high Lutherans 
begin to call it the 'altered', to suggest that it differed from the 
original of 1530. 



116 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



learned to understand the German controversies, while 
Melancthon learned to understand the Swiss theology. 
And yet, although these two leaders of the two Churches 
approached each other, still they differed. Melancthon 
was always tinged with the "real presence of Christ" 
views of Luther. He held to Christ's real bodily pres- 
ence in connection with the emblems, although he did 
not associate it as closely with them as did Luther in 
the phrase 'in, with and under/ While Calvin was 
tinctured with the spiritual presence of Zwingli, and 
held the presence of Christ, but that it was a spiritual 
presence j not in the emblems, but in the soul of the 
believer. They also differed very decidedly on other 
points. They differed on predestination and the power 
of the will. Melancthon was synergistic. Calvin was 
necessarian. They also differed on the extent of the 
atonement. Melancthon held that Christ's atonement 
was a universal one for all men ; Calvin's, that it was 
limited — that it was for the elect only. They also dif- 
fered in their doctrine of the person of Christ. Melanc- 
thon agreed to a real communication of the two natures 
of Christ, which Calvin did not believe. But they 
especially differed in regard to rites and customs of wor- 
ship. Calvin very strongly reproached Melancthon 
with his laxity toward altars and other semi-papal rites 
in the Lutheran Church. He was very greatly sad- 
dened by the Lutheran worship he saw at Ratisbon, 



MELANCTHON AND LUTHER. 



117 



with its crosses, altars and robes. Melancthon always 
showed a yielding toward the Catholics, which the stern, 
stiff' Calvin would not tolerate. Tn this they represent 
the position of the two Churches in cultus — the Luther- 
ans yielding and sacramentarian, the Reformed decided 
and anti-sacramentarian. But notwithstanding these 
theological differences, they became very warm personal 
friends. This strong personal attachment to Calvin ex- 
posed Melancthon to the suspicions of the high Luther- 
ans as early as 1544. In that year Melancthon rather 
expected that Luther would attack him in his shorter 
catechism. At that time, just before his death, Luther, 
while he respected Calvin, became terribly exasperated 
against the Zurich divines, and began to write very se- 
verely against them. Melancthon thus became very 
uncomfortable at Wittenberg. He compared himself to 
i Prometheus bound in Caucasus/ Luther seemed to have 
softened before he died, in 1546, for he said to Melanc- 
thon in the presence of Hardenberg, "Dear Phillip, I 
must confess that the matter of the Lord's supper has 
been much overdone." 

But, with Luther's death, the storm broke over Me- 
lancthon's head. As long as Luther lived, his influence 
restrained Melancthon's foes from openly attacking him. 
But when Luther died, the link between the two tenden- 
cies of Lutheranism was broken. And Lutheranism 
split into two sections — a high or old Lutheran party, 



118 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



and a low Lutheran or Melancthonian party. The 
Gnesio or high Lutherans were led by Amsdorf, Flacius, 
Wigand and Morlin. They were the conservative party. 
They considered themselves the guardians of orthodoxy ; 
and by orthodoxy, they meant strict Lutheranism. The 
Melancthonians or Phillipists were the progressive party. 
The first almost worshipped Luther ; the latter held 
Melancthon in as high esteem as Luther. This breach 
was still further widened by a rivalry that arose between 
the two princely houses of Saxony, the Electoral and 
Ducal families. Electoral Saxony contained Leipsic, 
Wittenberg and Dresden, which were Melancthonian. 
Ducal Saxony, situated farther west, consisting of 
Saxe- Weimar and Saxe-Gotha, contained the newly 
founded university of Jena. It became intensely high 
Lutheran, and aimed to rival Wittenberg university. 
This rivalry helped to widen the breach between the 
two parties in the Lutheran Church. The Interim of 
1548 made the separation of the two wings of Lutheran- 
ism still wider. This Interim compelled the Protestants 
to use certain Catholic ceremonies. Melancthon was, 
as usual, concessive to the Catholic Church. Weak of 
will himself, he now missed Luther's strong support. 
It is true, he took no part in framing the Augsburg 
Interim; but he committed himself to the greater part 
of it by his adoption of the Leipsic Interim, which was 
only a modification of the Augsburg Interim. This 



MELANCTHON AND THE INTERIM. 119 



Leipsic Interim allowed certain Catholic practices, as 
copes, candles, fast days ; confession and extreme unc- 
tion were made sacraments. It was a virtual return 
to Catholicism under the guise of indifference. 

But this act of Melancthon broke his power over the 
Lutherans of Germany. His enemies were more con- 
sistent Protestants than he, and they gloried in their 
orthodoxy. Melancthon's concessions to Rome gave 
them an opportunity to attack him on a weak point, 
where he could least defend himself. They quickly 
saw their opportunity, and took advantage of it to at- 
tack him. Flacius came out against him, and charged 
him with diluting the article about justification by 
faith in the Leipsic Interim. " An action like this," 
says one, " could have been pardoned in Agricola, but it 
could not be allowed to pass uncensured in Melancthon, 
' the teacher of Germany.' " Thus his action at the 
Leipsic Interim consolidated his enemies against him, 
and was the signal for a revolt against him in different 
parts of Germany. The Protestants and the Catholics 
finally came to an agreement a few years later, when the 
treaty of Passau was made, and the Interim was abol- 
ished. But though the Interim passed away, its effects 
did not pass away. The Lutherans were never united 
after that. Though Catholics and Protestants could 
come to an agreement, the Lutherans could not agree 



120 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



among themselves. The Interim broke Lutheranism 
into two.* 

But, although the Lutherans quarreled, Melancthon 
remained the leader of Lutheranism. Melancthonianism 
remained in the ascendency till he died. In 1555 oc- 
curred another of the opportunities, which Melancthon's 
timid nature made him miss. When the high Lutherans 
treated the Reformed refugees from England, under 
Lasco, with such severity and barbarism, as to shock one's 
sense of right and mercy ; then was the time for Melanc- 
thon, in the name of a common humanity, to protest 
against such treatment of the Reformed. He should 
have taken advantage of it against his enemies, as they 
took advantage of him in the Interim. But Melanc- 
thon was timid, and lost this opportunity of turning the 
sympathies of the people against the high Lutherans. 
" The more high Lutheranism advanced, the more tim- 
idly Melancthon retreated." In vain did Calvin ap- 
peal to him to take up the cause of the oppressed Re- 
formed refugees under Lasco. The more carefully he 
avoided every statement, the bolder did the other party 
become against him j until finally Melancthon was com- 
pelled to defend himself against the attacks of high Lu- 
theranism. Funk, the Osiandrian, when compelled to 

*The previous controversies of Osiandrianism and Majorisin 
prepared the way for Melancthonianism as a distinct party. 
They called attentiou to it as a distinct tendency in theology, 
which prepared it for Calvinism. 



MELANCTHON AT WORMS. 



121 



retract, had done so, but had left a sting behind him; by 
charging the professors at Wittenberg, with Melancthon 
at their head, with being Calvinists. This was the first 
charge brought against Melancthon of being a Calvin- 
ist, and it was only a piece of theological spite. Then 
to make his party still weaker, Brenz, the reformer of 
Wurteraberg, joined Melancthon's opponents in 1556. 
This hurt Melancthon very much, as well as his cause ; 
for Brenz, next to Melancthon, was the most influential 
man in the Lutheran Church of that day. So Melanc- 
thon spoke out finally, at the conference at Worms ; and 
defended himself and routed his opponents. For the 
differences between the Lutherans could not be concealed 
from the Catholics, and they had come out in open court 
of the Emperor at Ratisbon in 1556. This was very 
unfortunate, for it weakened the Protestant cause. So 
it was determined to hold a conference at Worms in 
1557, to unite the two opposing parties of Lutherans. 
Here at last, Melancthon spoke out against his enemies. 
His boldness rallied his followers, and he came off 
victorious. The Jesuits at the previous conference at 
Worms in 1540, anxious to foster disunion in the Prot- 
estant ranks, had called attention to the differences 
between the altered and unaltered Augsburg Confession ; 
and said that the old was higher Lutheran than the 
later one. This was an apple of discord. It is sig- 
nificant that the Jesuits began this work of disunion, 
9 



122 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



and that hereafter high Lutherans and Jesuits unite 
against the Reformed. This difference appeared publicly ; 
as the high Lutherans adhered to the unaltered, the 
Melancthonians to the altered Augsburg Confession. 
At Worms, in 1557, Melancthon did, what he did not do 
for Lasco. He interceded for the persecuted Huguenots 
and Waldensees.* This intercession of Melancthon for 
the Reformed Huguenots laid him open to the suspicion 
of the high Lutherans, that he was growing more favor- 
able to the Reformed churches. While at Worms, at 
the request of Elector Otto Henry of the Palatinate, he 
went to Heidelberg to assist him in arranging the eccle- 
siastical affairs of that land. And, while walking in 
the beautiful gardens of the castle at Heidelberg, he 
heard, through his friend Camerarius, of the death of 
his wife at Wittenberg. It was a great blow to him ; 
but submissively he lifted up his eyes to heaven and 
said, " Farewell, I shall soon follow thee." 

But, as this conference at Worms led to disunion 
rather than to union, another conference was held at 
Frankford in 1558. Here, again, Melancthonianism 

*It seems that the Reformed, in asking aid, acknowledged 
three differences from the Lutherans : First, the manner in 
which the body and blood of Christ were bound with the bread 
and wine; second, the communion of unworthy at the Lord's 
table ; third, the communication of the qualities of the divine 
nature to Christ's glorified body; so that, while he was in 
heaven, he could be with us on earth. On these three points 
the Reformed Church was distinct from Melaucthon's Luthei - 
anism. 



MELANCTHON AT NAUMBERG. 



123 



was victorious. The Duke of Saxony, the leader of 
high Lutheranism, protested against the power of Me- 
lancthonianism here. So, finally, another conference of 
nobles was held at Naumberg in 1561, to prepare a 
declaratory statement of the Augsburg Confession that 
should be submitted to the Emperor as the united faith 
of all his Protestant subjects in Germany. Its aim was 
to harmonize all parties of Lutherans, so as to be a unit 
against the Catholics. At this conference Duke Christ- 
opher of Wurtemberg urged that, as only two of the 
princes, who had originally signed the Augsburg Con- 
fession in 1530, still lived, Landgrave Phillip of Hesse 
and Duke Wolfgang of Anhalt, the nobles should again 
sign it, to signifiy their unity before the Emperor. But 
which Augsburg Confession should be signed — the orig- 
inal or the ' altered V There was quite a diversity of 
opinion. This diversity was finally harmonized by a 
compromise. This original unaltered Augsburg Con- 
fession was signed ; but in presenting it to the Emperor, 
a preface or declaratory statement was drawn up, which 
gave a Melancthonian interpretation to the old symbol. 
It was a virtual victory for Melancthonianism, the last 
victory it gained. All the princes signed it, except 
Duke John Frederick of Saxony, and the representatives 
of the Duke of Mecklenberg. This Duke of Saxony, 
the protector of high Lutheranism, left the city, as a 
protest against this victory of Melancthon. This depart- 



124 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ure of the Duke of Saxony filled all with perplexity. 
It proved the death-knell of Melancthonianism in Ger- 
many. This act was fatal to unity. And a reaction 
soon set in, which was fatal to Melancthonianism, and 
fatal to the decrees of the Naumberg Conference. For 
Melancthon had died, and there was no master mind to 
rally the princes to its Melancthonianism. Through 
all these victories and in the midst of this bitter 
opposition, Melancthon 's sensitive nature was keenly 
hurt. To avoid the bitter opposition of his opponents, 
he felt like going to Palestine to end his days in the 
cave of Jerome at Bethlehem. His last public act was 
an opinion given to the Elector of the Palatinate ; when 
the Elector asked him what course to pursue, so as to 
quiet the dissensions between Hesshuss and Klebitz, the 
one, high Lutheran and the other, Reformed. Melanc- 
thon 's advice was that at the Lord's supper, only Scripture 
phrases should be used. These would give no offense 
and would quiet disputes. 

Melancthon died April 19, 1560, having thanked 
God that he was now at last to be delivered from the 
rage and madness of theologians. His mind remained 
clear to the last. His consolation was the verse, 1 Christ 
is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi cation and 
redemption/ a verse which afterwards became the basis 
of the eighteenth answer of the Heidelberg Catechism. 
When Pencer, his son-in-law, asked him whether he 



melancthon 's death. 



125 



wanted anything, his answer was (and these were his 
beautiful dying words:) "Nothing but heaven." He 
was a thorough scholar and a broad-minded theologian. 
In his views of doctrine he neared the moderate Cal- 
vinists of to-day. But the moderate Calvinism of to- 
day is not the strict Calvinism of three centuries ago. 
Melancthon never was a Calvinist, and can not, there- 
fore, be quoted as one of the Fathers of the Reformed 
Church. He lived and died a consistent Lutheran. He 
always differed from the Calvinists in his views on cul- 
tus or church customs. After his death, the breach in 
the Lutheran Church widened. His death started the 
high Lutherans to make a decided effort to control and 
organize the Lutheran Church in Germany. Melanc- 
thonianism gradually declined. No great theological 
leader came forth from the Melancthonian wing to de- 
fend it. And his followers either went over, or were 
driven over, to the Reformed Church. 

Thus, Melancthon and Melancthonianism prepared 
the way for the Reformed Church in Germany. Like 
John the Baptist, it could say : " I am not that prophet." 
But the prophet came after it, in the Reformed faith. 
But Melancthon and his theology performed an impor- 
tant mission by opening up the way through which the 
Reformed doctrines could enter Germany. 



CHAPTER II. 



The Introduction of the Reformed Faith into 
the Palatinate. 

SECTION I. 

The Preparation of the Palatinate for the Reformed 
Church. 

The Palatinate, and especially Heidelberg, became 
the centre and home of the Reformed Church in Ger- 
many. All the previous efforts to introduce the Re- 
formed doctrines into Germany were only partially Re- 
formed, or were transitory in results. Strasburg lost its 
Reformed type and became Lutheran ; Hesse, while 
Reformed in church government, remained Lutheran 
(though of a mild type). In Friesland, the Reformed 
faith lingered under difficulties. The foreign churches 
in Germany, especially at Frankford, did not affect 
the German people very much. Still all these move- 
ments prepared the way for a greater movement, which 
culminated in the conversion of the Elector of the Pa- 
latinate to the Reformed Church. For it was the de- 
fence of the Elector Frederick III., at Augsburg, in 



THE PALATINATE. 



127 



1566, that gave the Reformed faith legal standing in 
Germany, and placed it on a permanent basis.* 

The Palatinate consisted of two parts, the Upper 
and the Lower Palatinate ; the latter being called the 
Rhine Palatinate, as it lay along the Rhine, and also 
the Wine Palatinate, because of its vineyards. It was 
not as large as the Upper Palatinate ; but it was far 
more populous and fertile. The Lower Palatinate was 
one of the most enlightened and beautiful countries in 
Europe in the sixteenth century. The 1 Berg Strasse' 
or public road from Frankford to Heidelberg was one 
of the finest roads on the continent. The Lower Palat- 
inate consisted of five principalities — Simmern, Spon- 
heim, Beldenz, Zweibrucken and the Palatinate proper. 
It has since disappeared from the map, having been 
dismembered. It is now included in Baden, Hesse and 
other states of Germany. The Upper Palatinate lay on 
the western border of Bohemia. It was the larger ot 
the two provinces, but not so fertile or populous. It 
was rich in pasture lands and in mineral wealth, but its 
farms were not large enough to raise sufficient grain for 
its people. Its principal city was Amberg. The Elec- 

*The name Palatinate is from the Latin Palatium, one of the 
seven hills of Rome, where Emperor Augustus lived. From 
that the word became the designation of a royal palace in any 
part of the Roman empire. It finally was applied to any part 
of district of land, marked by such a palace. One of the early 
Electors of the Palatinate indulged the hope that nis land might 
yet become the centre of as great a kingdom as the Roman 
empire; and hence he named it after the palace-hill of Rome. 



INTRODUCTION OF PROTESTANTISM. 129 

Frankford to Frankenthal, near Heidelberg, and made 
that place bloom like the rose, exerted a wide influence 
by the surrounding Palatinate. And in addition to 
these preparations from without ; within the Palatinate 
itself, there was an internal preparation taking place, 
which it is important to note. 

The Palatinate became Protestant late, after most of 
the other German states had received the reformation. 
This slowness to receive Protestantism, may have been 
due to the high, position of the Elector of the Palatinate, 
who, as the first temporal Elector of Germauy, was al- 
ways near the imperial throne. And being so near the 
Catholic Emperor, he was influenced by Catholicism. 
But Heidelberg could not escape the rising tide of edu- 
cation and liberal science, which, under the name of 
Humanism, was spreading through Germany. Reuch- 
lin, the famous Greek teacher, was the first to teach 
Greek in Heidelberg. And when Luther visited Heidel- 
berg in 1518, he made an address in the Augsburg 
cloister that set Heidelberg and South Germany on fire.* 
At the Diet of Worms, it was tht Elector Lewis, who, 
though a Catholic, protected Luther. For the Emperor 
was urged by the Catholic party to violate his pledge of 
safe conduct to Luther, and put him to death at Worms ; 
but he answered that he did not wish to blush as the 

*The Augustine cloister stood in the open place by the 
university building. The Augustiner Gasse, east of the present 
university building, is a memento of that cloister. 



/ 



130 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Emperor Sigisniund had done at the Council of Con- 
stance in 1415, when he had violated John Huss' safe 
conduct, and put him to death. At that council of Con- 
stance, it was the Elector of the Palatinate, who carried 
out the Emperor's orders and put Huss to death. Now 
at the Diet of Worms, it is the Elector of the same Pal- 
atinate who preserves Luther's life, by giving him his 
protection. And after the Diet of Worms, at the Diet 
of Spire, when the black clouds were gathering thick 
around the Protestant princes, it was the Elector of the 
Palatinate who held back the Catholic party from severe 
measures against them. At the Diets of Augsburg and 
Ratisbon, he again was mediator between the Emperor 
aud the Protestants. His successor, Elector Frederick 
II., began his reign as a Catholic. But Protestantism 
was entering and leaving his country. The knight 
Henry Landschad of Steinach was the first who, in 
1522, dared to introduce the reformation into the Palat- 
inate at Neckar-Steinach, where he introduced a Zwing- 
lian minister. Duke Otto Henry of Pfalz-Neuberg, one 
of the Palatinate duchies, who was a nephew of the 
Elector, introduced Protestantism into his land. At 
last, however, the suppressed feelings of the people 
could be no longer restrained. They broke forth in the 
church of the Holy Ghost in Heidelberg. On the 20th 
of December, 1545, just as the mass was about to begin 
in the church, the assembled congregation struck up a 



\ 



ELECTOR FREDERICK II. 



131 



Protestant hymn — that hymn of victory of the reforma- 
tion by Paul Speratus, " Es ist das Heil tins kommen 
her." 

So the Elector ordered that the mass should here- 
after be read in German instead of Latin ; that the Lord's 
supper be administered in two kinds ; and that the 
priests be allowed to marry. ' And on Christmas day, 
1545, the Lord's supper was administered in both kinds 
in the castle chapel, the members of the court partaking 
of it, except the Elector himself, who, for political rea- 
sons, did not do so. On January 3, 1546, the first 
Protestant service, with the administration of the com- 
munion in both kinds, was held in the church of the 
Holy Ghost at Heidelberg. But afterward, when the 
Interim was placed on his land, the Elector receded 
somewhat from his friendly position to Protestantism. 
However, after the Interim was lifted by the peace of 
Augsburg, which made Protestantism a legal religion 
in Germany, he again became friendly to Protestantism. 
He opened, on the 11th of November, 1555, the Au- 
gustinian convent as the Sapienz college for the study of 
the liberal arts or humanism. This Sapienz college 
afterwards became the institution for the education of 
ministers. To this school he called the ablest professors, 
among them the famous Olympia Morata, a marvel of 
scholarship and learning. She could speak Latin and 
Greek as fluently as her mother tongue. Driven out of 



132 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Italy because she became a Protestant, she came to Hei- 
delberg with her husband, Grander, where he taught 
medicine, while she lectured to the students. She died 
in 1555, leaving a beatiful testimony when dying, "I 
distinctly behold a place filled with ineffable light." A 
monument to her memory was placed in St. Peter's 
church.* The following year the Elector died. But 
just before he died, he professed the Protestant faith by 
receiving, together with his wife, the Protestant com- 
munion. 

Otto Henry, the new Elector, was a great favorite 
among the people. He was a decided adherent of Prot- 
estantism, having already introduced it into his little 
duchy of Neuberg, over which he ruled before he be- 
came Elector. He was a wise prince, and was called 
the Magnanimous. He was ardently devoted to educa- 
tion. He endowed the university, saying he would do 
so, if it took his last penny. He founded five profes- 
sorships of the liberal arts. And he was as active in 
religious affairs as he was in education. He thoroughly 
introduced Lutheranism into the Palatinate. But his 
Lutheranism was of the mild Melancthonian type. His 
reformation was very much after the type of Wurtern- 
berg. There Lutheranism had been tinctured by the 
simplicity of Zwinglian customs Otto Henry ordered 

*An interesting novel, entitled Olympia Morata, has been 
written about her by one of the Professors of Heidelberg uni- 
versity, under the pseudonyme of Geo. Taylor. 



ELECTOR OTTO HENRY. 



133 



statues and pictures to be put out of the churches, ex- 
cept one crucifix in the church of the Holy Ghost at 
Heidelberg. He put away all side altars, but allowed 
the main altar to remain in each church. Exorcism was 
abolished. The Lord's supper was celebrated in a sim- 
ple style. The minister was not allowed, during conse- 
cration, to turn his back to the people, as the priests 
did ; but he had to keep his face toward the people. 
This modification of worship was made after the model 
of the Wurtemberg Church -order, which had been 
affected by the Zwinglianism of neighboring Switzer- 
land. Otto Henry's little principality of Neuberg was 
on the borders of Wurtemberg, and he simply brought 
its rites into the Palatinate. Lasco, too, first in 1548 
and again in 1554, seems to have given Otto Henry 
advice about the introduction of the reformation into 
his land. Thus Otto Henry was insensibly influenced 
in the direction of the Reformed Church. Brenz's cat- 
echism, which was mildly Lutheran, was used by him. 
Melancthon came to visit and aid him, when he was at 
the conference of Worms in 1557. Otto Henry organ- 
ized a consistory consisting of Diller his court preacher, 
Ehem and Erastus. Afterward Hesshuss was added, 
because he was the superintendent. Thus, while Otto 
Henry was organizing the churches of his land, he was, 
unknown to himself, preparing his land for the intro- 
duction of the Reformed faith. He did this by intro- 



134 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ducing a simple mode of worship, more like the Re- 
formed than the high Lutheran. He also aided by 
calling to his land so many foreign teachers, some of 
them Reformed. He appointed Boquin, who was Re- 
formed, as professor in the university. But the most 
ardent adherent of Zwingli at Heidelberg was Erastus, 
who was the physician to the Elector. He labored 
incessantly to have Zwinglians appointed to the chairs 
of the university, and as he had the ear of the Elector, 
his influence had great weight. Otto Henry called 
Marbach from Strasburg to be superintendent of his 
churches. And as he would not accept, he then, upon 
Melancthon's suggestion, appointed Hesshuss to that 
office. He did not know what a firebrand he was cast- 
ing into his own camp by this appointment of Hesshuss. 
When Hesshuss arrived, he found that the prevailing 
type of Lutheranism at Heidelberg was Melancthonian. 
This was not to his high Lutheran taste ; so he began 
to introduce high Lutheran customs, as the wearing of 
white robes by the ministers, and the decorating of the 
altars. He also introduced high Lutheran ministers into 
positions in the Palatinate Of course there was fric- 
tion, and controversy, and trouble. In the midst of all 
these efforts of Hesshuss to introduce high Lutheranism, 
Otto Henry died, and the conflict between the high 
Lutherans and the Melancthonians was carried over to 
the next reign. Elector Otto Henry died greatly 



ELECTOR FREDERICK III. 



135 



lamented by his devoted people. He had an idea that 
his house was an unlucky one, and so did not marry 
again, because he wanted it to die with him. He thought 
because his ancestor Elector Lewis III. of the Palatinate 
had led John Huss to his funeral pyre, that a curse was 
hanging over his family. So he deemed it better for 
his land that his unlucky family should die out, and 
that the Palatinate should fall to another branch of the 
family. After his death the Palatinate fell to the Sim- 
mern branch of the family, who had ruled a little part 
of it at the northern end of Lower Palatinate. And 
Frederick, duke of Simmern, became Elector Frederick 
III. of the Palatinate. 

Frederick III., called the Pious, was one of the 
most religious princes that ever lived. He was a wise 
ruler of his land, a devoted adherent to his Church. 
He himself was the best exponent, as well as patron, of 
the truths of his Heidelberg Catechism. Becker calls 
him i the Josiah' of the Palatinate people. He was 
worthy of the honor of being the founder of the Re- 
formed Church in Germany. 

He was born February 14, 1515, at Simmern. His 
father, Duke John II. of Pfalz-Simmern, was an ardent 
supporter of the Catholic faith, and zealously trained 
up his children in that religion. Frederick was raised 
at the courts of strict Catholic rulers, the Cardinal of 
Lorraine, the Bishop of Liege, and also of the Emperor 



136 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Charles V. of Germany, who had persecuted the 
Protestants with fire and sword. Frederick came in 
contact with Harden berg at Louvain, and from him 
received the first impressions toward evangelical truth. 
The scandals of the priests at Metz and Liege were not 
unknown to him, and lessened the influence of the Rom- 
ish Church over him. But he owed his conversion to 
Protestantism to his wife, a Protestant princess of Bran- 
denberg-Baireuth, whom he married in 1537. She 
brought him Luther's teachings, and made him promise 
to read his Bible and to consider religious questions. 
However, as long as his father lived, he did not openly 
declare for Protestantism. The death of his son, Her- 
man Lewis, by drowning at Bourges in France, made a 
deep impression on his heart and still further developed 
his religious impressions. Elector Otto Henry saw in 
Frederick his successor to the throne of the Palatinate ; 
and that he might be prepared for that position, he ap- 
pointed Frederick his governor in the Upper Palatinate. 
From this position, after the death of Elector Otto 
Henry, he came to Heidelberg to reign as Elector. 
When he arrived at Heidelberg, he found that matters 
had come to a crisis. There were three religious par- 
ties there — the high Lutheran party, led by Hesshuss, 
supported by Councillor Erasmus of Yenniugen and 
Chancellor Minkwitz ; the Melancthonians, consisting 
of Otto Henry's court preacher Diller, the Count of Er- 



REASONS FOR FREDERICK'S CONVERSION". 137 

bach, and Chancellor Probus ; the Zwinglians were 
Erastus, Councillor Ehem, and Klebitz ; while still a 
fourth party was beginning to appear called Calvinists, 
and headed by Boquin. Matters could not remain long 
in this condition with such a variety of conflicting ele- 
ments. There must be a fusion of some of the parties, 
which indeed did take place. The Zwinglians, Calvin- 
ists and Melancthonians were driven together by the 
mad fanaticism of Hesshuss, the high Lutheran zealot. 

Three things led Elector Frederick III. into the 
Reformed Church. The first was the bigotry and per- 
secution of the high Lutherans. He had become dis- 
gusted by them at the previous conferences of the princes 
for union, and he had been disheartened by the egotism 
and fanaticism of Hesshuss. He was driven out of the 
Lutheran Church by the Lutherans themselves. The 
second reason was the reaction that came after the Naum- 
berg Conference. At that Conference the German prin- 
ces signed the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, but al- 
lowed the interpretation of it in a Melancthonian sense. 
After that Conference, the princes, one by one, rapidly 
retired from their allegiance to its decrees and left Fred- 
erick, who had become the leader of the Melancthonian 
party, standing almost alone. After such a desertion, 
what could he do but go over to the Reformed Church ? 
The third reason was, that just then, in the nick of 
time, foreign teachers, either Zwinglians or Calvinists, 
10 



138 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

came into his land to offer this new faith to the dis- 
heartened Elector. Thus Frederick glided into the Re- 
formed Church. These were the general influences, that 
led him thus. But there were also particular steps in 
hrs course. -No man comes to great decisions in his life 
without degrees of preparation. It will be interesting 
to notice the particular steps by which Frederick and 
the Palatinate were led to Calvinism. 

Already before Frederick's accession to the throne, 
in Otto Henry's reign, an event had occurred that fore- 
shadowed the coming troubles. Otto Henry was the 
patron of the fine arts. He it was, who built the mag- 
nificent Otto Henry's building in the castle at Heidel- 
berg, which has outlasted three destructions, and is a 
marvel of beauty even in ruins. Otto Henry, in 1558, 
just before his death, wanted to erect a monument to the 
memory of his wife and of himself in the church of the 
Holy Ghost at Heidelberg. This monument he wanted 
to have made, like his building in the castle, after the 
style of the Renaissance, which was a revival of Greek 
and Roman art. But the artist's design for this monu- 
ment mingled Pagan with Grecian ideas, very much as 
they are mingled in the Otto Henry's building at the 
castle, where Samson is offset by Hercules, &c. And 
the nudeness of the figures, as well as the paganism, 
suggested by this monument, gave offense. In the art- 
ist's designs, seven virgins, nude to the hips, with flam- 



BREACH BETWEEN THE PARTIES. 



139 



ing torches, stood in the plinth beneath the statue of the 
Elector. Opposite them was a procession of angels, 
who were represented by unclothed youths. The idea 
was a beautiful one. The maidens, with their torches, 
represented affliction ; and the angels, with palm 
branches, represented victory over affliction and com- 
fort from above. But Klebitz, one of the preachers of 
the Holy Ghost church, who was a believer in Zwing- 
lian simplicity ; and, like the Swiss, opposed to statues 
and pictures in churches, opposed the introduction of 
such a monument into the church, especially as there 
were nude figures on it. Hesshuss, with his Lutheran 
disregard for images and pictures (which were allowed 
in Lutheran churches), sided with the Elector. Hess- 
huss hoped, by aiding the Elector, to gain more influ- 
ence over him. But, to his surprise, the cautious Otto 
Henry, rather than give offense, did not carry out his 
plan. Instead of an elaborate monument, he ordered 
only a simple bust to be placed in the church. 

One thing led to another. One event followed an- 
other, to widen the breach between the high Lutherans 
and the other parties. This conflict between Klebitz 
and Hesshuss was only the beginning of the end. A 
pious teacher of Edenkoben, Bernard Hexamer by- 
name, through the study of the mystics, was led to lay 
great stress on the inner life and experience of the be- 
liever. He said "God's words are worthless, unless 



140 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the inner word of God, through the Spirit, entered man's 
heart." And, as Hexamer did not play the part of a 
sycophant to this Protestant pope, Hesshuss, he was or- 
dered to come to Heidelberg to be examined about his 
orthodoxy. There Hesshuss charged him with being 
"a Schwenkfelder." And, in his examination, Hesshuss 
so distorted Zwinglianism, that Klebitz protested against 
his words. Hexamer was deposed and left the country. 
But this event widened the breach between the Luther- 
ans and Zwinglians. The next event that still further 
separated them, was the attempted introduction of new 
hymn books and of new ceremonies. Hesshuss wanted 
the Bonn hymn-book, which had been prepared by Me- 
lancthon and Bucer, to be dispensed with ; and Luther's 
hymn-book to be introduced instead. He also wanted 
Brenz's catechism, which had been prepared by Brenz 
in his earlier days, when he was Melancthonian, to be 
put away, and Luther's catechism to be introduced. 
Without even asking the consistory, he declared that 
the Bonn hymn book and the Brenz catechism were dis- 
pensed with. This act brought him into collision with 
the consistory With the introduction of Luther's hymn- 
book and catechism, he also tried to introduce high. 
Lutheran ceremonies. These were hitherto unknown 
in the Palatinate, which, like Wurtemberg, had always 
been low Lutheran in its ceremonies. At the commun- 
ion, instead of the German hymn that was usually sung, 



ANOTHER BREACH BETWEEN THEM. 141 

a choir of boys sang a Latin litany. At the consecra- 
tion of the elements in the Lord's supper, Hesshuss 
turned his back on the people, as if acting as their inter- 
cessor ; instead of facing the people in the prayer. As 
he went around with the elements, two scholars in sur- 
plices held a silk cloth beneath them, lest any of the 
bread and wine should fall on the floor. And if not 
enough of the elements had been consecrated, the con- 
gregation had to wait until he had consecrated more by 
a new act of consecration. Against these relics of pa- 
pacy, still common among the high Lutherans, Klebitz 
naturally protested. And the quarrel became so bitter, 
that the Elector, Otto Henry, though sick with his last 
illness, was compelled to interfere. He ordered that no 
new ceremonies should be introduced during the winter, 
And now another event occurred that brought the 
contest into the university as well as in the church and 
court. A young theologian of the Netherlands, Sylvius 
of Leuwaarden in West Friesland, had a call from a 
church in Groningen. Before he entered on his field 
of labor, he wanted to take the doctor's degree. For 
that purpose he came to Heidelberg. Hesshuss, the de- 
kan of the faculty, had the audacity, in the very month 
that Otto Henry died, to give this young man theses 
which were on the rejection of Zwinglianism. He aimed 
to revive the controversy, even though the Elector had 
forbidden it, and was now dying. Sylvius being a 



142 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Netherlander, naturally upheld the Reformed view of 
the sacraments. Hesshuss then raged against him as a 
godless Calvinist and a semi-papist. And as Erastus 
(reminding him that the union of a Calvinist and Pa- 
pist in one man must be an impossibility) laughingly 
asked him, how a man could be at the same time a Lap- 
lander and a negro : Hesshuss got into a rage and gave 
vent to such prelatic insolence that the whole university 
rose against him and wanted to expel him from the 
university senate. The piide and insolence of Hesshuss 
was shown at a sitting of the consistory in the castle, 
when he dared to seat himself in the throne of the ab- 
sent Elector ; for which act of assumption he received 
the nickname of Toleman Geckhusen or Tilemen Cox- 
comb. Just at this critical moment Elector Otto Henry 
died. Thus Hesshuss, by his tyranny and insolence, 
alienated the consistory, the court and the university 
from him. The steps are interesting ; first a monument, 
then a schoolmaster, then a scholar. These were the 
successive causes. 

The new Elector, Frederick III., when he entered 
on his reign, tried to act independently in religious ques- 
tions. But any man who acted independently of him, 
Hesshuss called his enemy. Frederick was finally com- 
pelled to take sides. But in the meantime he was com- 
pelled to leave Heidelberg to go to Augsburg, and be 
invested with the electoral hat and dignity. During his 



KLEBITZ THESES. 



143 



absence he left the Count of Erbach, a Melancthonian, 
as temporary governor. The university, in spite of 
Hesshuss' opposition, granted a degree of doctor in 
March, 1559, to Sylvius; and ordered Hesshuss to be 
put out of the university senate. Hesshuss became an- 
gry and left town. He went to Wesel, his birth-place, 
to help the Lutherans against the Reformed refugees, 
who had arrived at Wesel. It was the most unfortu- 
nate thing Hesshuss could do — to thus go away in a 
huff. He had better stayed at home. For Klebitz 
took advantage of his absence to -commit the university 
to the Reformed faith. Klebitz determined to bring 
matters to a crisis. He determined to commit the Pa- 
latinate to the Reformed faith, even if it cost him his 
position. Having seen the past tactics of the high Lu- 
therans, he made up his mind that nothing short of a 
bold open confession of Calvinism would stop the tide 
of high Lutheranism. He determined to ask the uni- 
versity to grant him the master's degree. He proposed 
for disputation seven theses, which held the doctrines 
of Calvinism. If the university pronounced favorably 
to his theses, it would then commit the university to 
Calvinism. The university granted him his degree on 
April 15 ; and the university was thus committed as fa- 
vorable to Calvinism. Then Hesshuss came back from 
Wesel and took in the situation. He stormed against 
Klebitz as an Arian and a devil, " who hoped to steal 



144 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the kernel out of the Lord's supper." From the pulpit 
Hesshuss called Klebitz "a wolf in sheep's clothing, a 
mixer of poison and a robber of souls." Klebitz did 
not debate with him, but sent him his theses, with Bi- 
ble proofs, for examination. Hesshuss sent them to the 
high Lutheran theologians at Jena, Morlin and Stossel, 
for examination. He wanted the university at Jena to 
pronounce against them. Then began at Heidelberg a 
terrible pulpit war. Finally, Count Erbach called the 
preachers together and besought them, with tears in his 
eyes, to become peaceful. " God's cause was not fur- 
thered, but disgraced by such proceedings." For this 
act, Hesshuss called the Count a Calvinist and threat- 
ened to excommunicate him, because he stopped the 
cause of truth. Erbach then sent to Augsburg to learn 
the will of the Elector about this matter. In the mean- 
time one Sunday, at communion, as two noblemen 
stepped forward to receive the communion, Hesshuss, 
considering that it belonged to him to reach them the 
cup, ordered Klebitz to give it up to him. This Kle- 
bitz refused to do. Then Hesshuss ordered the other 
preacher, in the presence of the congregation, to take 
the cup from Klebitz's hands. This Klebitz would not 
allow. Thus the supper of peace became an apple of 
discord, and the congregation were treated to the sad 
sight of its shepherds quarreling at the altar.* Hess- 

*Herzog pronounces this tale an exaggeration. 



HESSHUSS IS DISMISSED. 145 

huss then, from the pulpit, excommunicated Klebitz. 
While this ban of excommunication was hanging over 
him, Klebitz's child died ; and, as he was excommuni- 
cated, Hesshuss refused his child an honorable burial. 

In the midst of all the excitement caused by this 
strife, the Elector returned. He gathered the ministers 
together and, with tears in his eyes, besought them to 
cease their quarrels. He lifted the excommunication of 
Hesshuss from Klebitz, and restored Klebitz to his 
former place. He also received the Lord's supper ; and 
it is noticeable that he did not receive it from Hesshuss, 
but from the hands of Diller and Klebitz. . Then Hess- 
huss turned against the Elector. And finally the Elec- 
tor, to quiet matters, had to dismiss both Hesshuss and 
Klebitz, the leaders of the two parties. But it is no- 
ticeable that Klebitz received a favorable recommenda- 
tion from the Elector ; while Hesshuss did not, thus 
showing with whom the Elector sympathized.* After 
Hesshuss' departure, the office of superintendent was 
abolished. Frederick, in order to support his position, 
sent to Melancthon for his opinion. Melancthon sug- 
gested that for the sake of peace, the leaders in the strife 
be sent away. He suggested as a formula to suit all 
parties, that the words of Scripture be used as given in 
1 Cor. 10, 16 : "The cup of blessing which we bless, is 

*Hesshuss was deposed seven times in his life, and at last 
died an exile. 



146 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



it not the communion of the blood of Christ j the bread 
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of 
Christ ?" But this advice of Melancthon was not satis- 
factory to the high Lutherans. Still it had great weight 
among the people of the Palatinate, and inclined them 
to side with the Elector. And when he went over to 
the Reformed Church, they followed him. So this ad- 
vice of Melancthon aided in preparing the way for the 
Reformed faith. 

The Lutheran princes and theologians viewed Fred- 
erick's course w T ith alarm. When the Duke William 
of Saxe-W r eimar was to be married to the daughter of 
Frederick III., the theologians determined to make use 
of the wedding to bring Frederick back to the Lutheran 
faith. The two dukes, John Frederick of Saxe-Gotha, 
the standard bearer of high Lutheranism, and his 
brother William, brought their court preachers, Morlin 
and Stossel, with them to the wedding. They hoped 
they might thus prevent the Elector from separating 
himself from the Lutheran faith. In connection with 
this wedding, a religious conference, lasting five days, 
was held in June, 1560. Boquin and Erastus were the 
defenders of Frederick III. against Merlin and Stossel. 
Boquin's twenty-four theses were Calvinistic, being 
largely identical with Klebitz' theses, which Hesshuss 
had previously sent to Morlin and Stossel. On the third 
day of the disputation the Duke of Saxony brought 



FREDERICK REFORMS HIS LAND. 147 

twenty-four counter theses. These were disputed for 
two days more. Both sides claimed the victory. But 
an unfortunate impression was made on the audience, 
when Stossel refused to dispute with Erastus, because 
he was not a theologian, but a doctor of medicine. 
Erastus answered, " But I am a Christian." Still, 
although both parties claimed the victory, the victory 
really lay with the Palatines. For Stossel, after this, 
weakened in his Lutheranism, went over to Melancthon- 
ianism, finally became a Crypto Calvinist, and died for 
that faith. 

This conference settled Frederick's mind in favor of 
Calvinism. But he did not go over to the Reformed 
faith until after the Naumberg Conference in 1561, 
when he was satisfied that there was no peace in the 
Lutheran Church. With his wise foresight he saw that 
the departure of the Duke of Saxony from the city of 
Naumberg, as a protest against liberal Lutheranism, 
was a prophecy of the fall of Melancthonianism. Still, 
in going over to Calvinism, Frederick claimed that he 
did not leave his Lutheran faith behind. He said he 
had subscribed the Augsburg Confession, and still 
claimed to be true to it. But everywhere the customs 
of worship were changed. The simplicity of Reformed 
worship was introduced. All the feasts in honor of the 
virgin were discontinued. Altars, baptismal fonts, waf- 
ers, Latin singing in the service, and pictures, were put 
out of the churches of the Palatinate. Organs were 



148 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



silenced for a hundred years. Instead of altars, came 
communion tables ; instead of wafers, came bread ; in- 
stead of fonts, came bowls.* Frederick's simplicity of 
taste and of court life prepared him for the simplicity 
ot the Reformed faith. Altars were put away. The Re- 
formed Church never had an altar. It had only a com- 
munion table. Its very existence seems to have been a 
protest against altars, which were Papal or Lutheran. f 
Frederick seems to have been especially bitter against 
baptismal fonts as fostering Papacy. u Even so there 
is an opportunity with the baptismal fonts, which also 
have heretofore been misused for all idolatry and magic 
in Papacy."J 

Frederick also reformed the schools. The Sapienz 
College was changed into a theological seminary for the 
education of ministers. A new consistory was formed, 

* About altars and baptismal fonts Frederick wrote to his 
son-in-law, Duke John Frederick, "I would rather suffer, yes, 
desire from my heart, that all altars, not only in the Lower Pa- 
latinate, but every where that I can command, should be done 
away with, without injury to weak consciences, then would I 
be much farther separated from the Pope and his crime. It is 
not enjoined or commanded to all Christians in the word of God, 
even to baptize in stony coffins (fonts) ; but with water is one to 
be baptized, it may be standing or flowing. And truly none of 
the apostles and disciples of Christ baptized in a coffin of stone." 

f Frederick, in his letter of October 3, 1565, says, "There are 
still remaining here and there many idolatries : altars, cruci- 
fixes, baptismal fonts and other idolatrous things ;" and the ap- 
pended command requires that "all feasting in the church 
should be put away, so that it may not be used any more for 
idolatry." — Wolter's Heidelberg Catechism, 138, note. 

JSudhoff, Olevianus and TJjrsinus, 140, note. 



Frederick's strict laws. 



149 



consisting of Olevianus, Boquin, Tossanus, Erastus, 
Marius, Haekel, with Zuleger as president. Frederick 
also gave close attention to the moral and business wel- 
fare of his land. His police orders are called "a Christ- 
ian police regulation" in their title. On Sundays and 
prayer days every one was ordered to go to church, ex- 
cept in case of sickness. The city was divided into 
quarters j and the minister, assisted by one elder, attended 
to each district. The new comers were thus found and 
examined in their faith. During the church service all 
walking in parks, lanes or to taverns, was forbidden. 
Profanity, debauchery, tippling and soothsaying were for- 
bidden. The mocking of persons going to church was 
fined with thirty kreutzers. Yearly each family was to 
be visited, so as to be prepared for the holy communion. 

Such morality always produces prosperity. The 
Palatinate bloomed as it had never done before. The 
suppression of the convents brought in a large revenue, 
while Frederick's court expenses were small. The 
money from the sale of the convents was applied to 
schools, churches and charities. The waste places of 
the land were settled. The coming of the persecuted 
refugees from Holland and France brought prosperity 
with them. Industry flourished. But the crowning 
act of Frederick III. was the publication of the Hei- 
delberg Catechism. Before, however, describing its 
composition, it will be necessary to describe the two 
men who wrote it — Olevianus and Ursinus. 



CHAPTER II. — SECTION II. 

The Authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, Ursinus and 
Oleviaims. 

ZACHARIAH URSINUS. 

Zachariah Ursinus was 
born July 18th, 1534, at 
Breslau, the chief city of 
Silesia. His father had 
been the teacher of Sigis- 
mund Pucher, a man of 
influence in that city. He 
was also dekan or assistant 
preacher of the Magdalene 
Church, and later professor of theology in the St. Eliza- 
beth School of Breslau. The name of the family had 
been Bar (bear) ; but, according to the custom of the age, 
the name had been latinized into Ursinus. When 16 
years of age, Ursinus set out for Wittenberg to attend 
the University. Here he became the devoted scholar of 
Melancthon. He came to Wittenberg after Luther's 
death, when Melancthon's milder theology had taken 
the place of Luther's sharper polemics.* After a course 

*For a description of Ursinus' school days at Wittenberg, see 
Crato of Krafftheim, I., page 99. 




HIS EDUCATION. 



151 



in mathematics, philosophy and theology (supported by 
his uncle), he set out to travel and complete his educa- 
tion. He followed Melancthon to Worms, and then 
went with him to Heidelberg. Then he traveled through 
Strasburg to Switzerland, where he became acquainted 
with the leading men of the Reformed Church. He trav- 
eled through Basle and Lausanne to Geneva ; where Cal- 
vin, seeing his abilities, presented him with a set of his 
works. From Switzerland he went through Lyons and 
Orleans to Paris, that he might study French and Hebrew. 
He then returned to Zurich, where he was especially inti- 
mate with the rector of ' the school of the church of our 
Lady/ the Hebraist, John Friese. He also met Peter 
Martyr, who had come thither from England and Stras- 
burg, and who was destined to exert so great an influ- 
ence on his after-life. Returning to W ittenberg through 
Tubingen, Ulm and Nuremberg, before he had time to 
settle down to study, he was called by the city council 
of Breslau, his native city, to come home and teach in 
the St. Elizabeth's School as the fourth professor. There 
it fell to his lot to give a sketch of doctrine ; for which 
purpose Melancthon's ' Common Places' were used as a 
text book. He used the later edition of this work, 
which expressed Melancthon's milder views of theology. 
The city of Breslau had been a Melancthonian strong- 
hold, but some high Lutherans had come in. They be- 
gan to declaim against Ursinus, charging him with de- 



152 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



parture from the true Lutheran faith. Ursinus' per- 
sonal acquaintance with some of the leading Reformed 
theologians also exposed him to their suspicion. To 
justify himself against the charge that he was not teach- 
ing pure Lutheranism, he published his first book, 
u Theses on the doctrine of the sacraments." Melanc- 
thon was very much pleased with the book and compli - 
mented Ursinus highly. Bat the high Lutherans at- 
tacked the book and its author. Morenberger, a mem- 
ber of the council and a Melancthonian, wrote to Wit- 
tenberg to Melancthon for advice. Adam Cureus, the 
church inspector, went to Wittenberg, visited Pencer 
and asked him to intercede with his father-in-law Me- 
lancthon, that he might try and stop the conflict at Bres- 
lau. Ursinus remained at Breslau two years ; and then, 
in 1560, he resigned his position on account of the op- 
position of the high Lutherans. He, however, promised 
the city council, who, against the wish of the ministers, 
desired him to remain, that he would return again when 
they wished it. When he was about leaving, his uncle, 
Roth, asked him whither he was going. He answered : 
"Not unwillingly do I leave my fatherland, when it 
will not suffer the confession of truth, which I cannot 
surrender with a good conscience. If my best father, 
Phillip (Melancthon), still lived (Melancthon had just 
died, seven days before), I would go nowhere but to 
him. Now that he is dead, I will go nowhere but to 



UESINUS GOES TO ZURICH. 



153 



the Zurich theologians. They are pious, learned, great 
men, with whom I have already resolved to spend my 
life. God will provide the rest/' These words show 
his relation to Melancthon and to the Zurich theologi- 
ans. Manifestly among the dead, none stood nearer to 
him than Melancthon ; and among the living, none 
nearer than the Zurich theologians. When he left 
Breslau, his dear friend and bosom companion, Crato'of 
Krafftheim, city physician of Breslau, filled his purse, 
and was afterwards Ursinus' constant correspondent. 
Ursinus left Breslau with the intention of beginning 
again his theological studies. When he arrived at Wit- 
tenberg, his friends desired him to stay there, where, 
perhaps, he might have risen to be the successor of Me- 
lancthon. He was one of Melancthon's favorite pupils ; 
and Melancthon's party, after his death, greatly needed 
a theological leader. But affairs at the University of 
Wittenberg had all been disarranged by Melancthon's 
death ; and Ursinus clearly foresaw the future conflicts 
with the high Lutheranism and its probable victory at 
Wittenberg. So he refused their invitation to stay at 
Wittenberg, and hastened to Zurich. When he came to 
Zurich, he became the close follower of Peter Martyr, 
who, from that day, took Melancthon's place in Ursi- 
nus' heart. From the school of Melancthon he now 
went over to the school of Martyr. Peter Martyr was 
11 



154 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



a strong predestinarian,* and he greatly influenced Ur- 
sinus in that direction. Ursinus, in order to come to a 
decision about the doctrine of predestination, read the 
Bible through from beginning to end ; and after he 
found this doctrine established in God's word, he held 
it unwaveringly the rest of his life.f Ursinus had left 
his Melancthonianism so far behind him, that when 
Martyr wrote an answer to Brenz, Ursinus greatly re- 
joiced at Martyr's answer to that Lutheran leader of 
Wurtemberg Now it happened that while Ursinus was 
staying at Zurich, Peter Martyr received an urgent call 
from Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate to come 
to Heidelberg as Professor of theology in the Univer- 
sity. But Peter Martyr felt unwilling to do so. He 
had just declined a call to come back to England, and 
felt he could not, in good grace, accept a call to Heidel- 
berg. He also foresaw the conflicts which would come 
in attempting to introduce the Reformed faith into the 
Palatinate ; and as he was an old man, he preferred to 
spend the rest of his days in peace and quietness. So 
he declined the call ; but recommended Frederick to 
call Ursinus in his stead. At the earnest solicitation of 
Erastus, Elector Frederick III. then invited Ursinus to 
come to Heidelberg. Ursinus foresaw the conflicts that 
were before him there ; and being of a very retiring, 

*Sudhoff, Olevianus and Ursinus, 329, note. 
fGoebel, I., 387; Letters ofl573; Goebel, I., 389. 



HIS CALL TO HEIDELBERG. 



155 



shy and sensitive disposition, he dreaded going. He 
once gave utterance to the words : "O, that I could re- 
main hid in a corner ; I would give anything for a shel- 
ter in some quiet village." In answer to this call, he 
went to Heidelberg in the autumn of 1561. He taught 
for a year in the Sapienz college ; and there his clearness 
of teaching having won for him many scholars, he was 
also made professor of theology in the University in the 
place of Olevianus, who was appointed court preacher 
of the Elector. At first Ursinus preached occasionally. 
But he soon gave it up, as his vocation was that of a 
scholar and teacher, rather than that of a pastor and 
preacher. 



156 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



CASPAR OLEVIANUS. 




Caspar Olevianus was 
born at Olewi'g, a suburb 
of Treves, the city 'of the 
holy coat of Christ/ He 
first saw the light on Au- 
gust 10, 1536.* He re- 
ceived his name from the 
place of his birth ; but 
this name, according to 
the custom of the time, was changed and latinized into 
Olevianus. His father was, as master of the guild of 
bakers, a member of the city council, and also treasurer 
of the city. His mother, Anna Sinzig, was the daughter 
of the master of the butchers' guild. It was his grand- 
father who mainly educated Caspar ; as he was his pet 
grand-son. To his mother, who seems to have been a 
woman of deep religious feeling, he owed much of his ten- 
dency toward spiritual things. He was baptized in the 
church of St. Lawrence. He attended school at St. Law- 
rence church ; also at St Simeon's, and at the Cathedral 
school ; and then entered the college of St. Germain at 
Treves. Here, at the early age of thirteen, his religious 

*In the so-called Wittlicher House in the moat near the mar- 
ket. The Elector of Treves afterward bought it (not, however, 
because of any love for Olevianus), and changed it into a court 
of justice. 



OLEVIANUS ' EARLY LIFE. 



157 



nature was deeply stirred by the Lenten sermons of a 
pious aged monk. The religious impulse given him by 
this old priest affected his whole after-life, and ultimately 
led him to the gospel. This priest seemed to have been 
an 'evangelical/ for he bade him look at the sacrifice of 
Christ as the only ground of his salvation. Many years 
after, Olevianus bore testimony to the impression this 
priest made on him. In 1550, at fourteen years of age, 
he was sent to France to complete his education as a 
lawyer. He studied languages at Paris, and afterward 
studied law at Orleans and Bourges. He soon joined 
those secret churches of France called the ' churches of 
the cross' : although it was dangerous to join them at 
that time. 

Thus Olevianus seemed to follow in the footsteps of 
Calvin from place to place — from Paris to Orleans and 
Bourges, and to Geneva afterward. He thus followed 
in Calvin's path locally, as well as spiritually. Calvin 
had studied at Bourges in 1528, and there met Wolmar, 
who called Calvin into the ministry by asking him 
what he proposed to do in life. Wolmar urged Calvin 
to begin preaching. Others also asked this distinguished 
young student to preach. So Calvin began preaching 
at Bourges, and in the neighboring towns, as Berry and 
Liguieres. Where Calvin had been called into the min- 
istry, now Olevianus also received a call of God to 
preach the gospel, only it came in a different way. Cal- 



158 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



vin's came through a friend, and Olevianus' through a 
danger. Sometimes a passing incident will bring men's 
lives to a crisis and change their whole after-career. 
Such an event happened to Olevianus at Bourges, in 
1556. The German students at this University were 
naturally brought much into contact with each other. 
Olevianus contracted a close friendship with the lead- 
ing German students, and especially with Prince Her- 
man Lewis, second son of Count Frederick of Simmern, 
afterward Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate. One 
day while Olevianus and the prince were walking along 
the banks of the Auron river,* they met some German 
students of noble birth. These asked them to go across 
the river in a boat, although some of the young princes 
were somewhat intoxicated. Olevianus tried hard to 
dissuade Prince Herman from going with them. But 
the prince, with his court master, Nicolas Judex, went 
with them in the boat. They had hardly gotten into 
the middle of the river, before these half-drunken stu- 
dents began rocking the boat from side to side, which 
tilted them over and threw them all into the water, to 
find a watery grave. Olevianus saw all this from the 
shore, where he was standing. He threw himself into 
the water to rescue his friend, the prince ; but in the 
muddy bottom of the river he only got himself into the 

*Goebel and Seisen call it the Eure ; Sudhoff, the Auron. 
Bouiges lies at the junction of the Eure and the Auron. 



HIS CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 



159 



greatest danger. Thus hanging between life and death, 
he called on God to save him. And he vowed that, if 
God would save him from death, he would devote him- 
self to preaching the gospel to his fatherland. Just in 
the nick of time a servant in the service of Prince Her- 
man came running to the rescue. He caught hold of 
the sinking Olevianus, thinking he was the prince. And 
so Olevianus was saved, instead of the prince. This as- 
sociation with the death of this prince afterward proved 
a very fortunate thing for Olevianus ; for the prince's 
father, Frederick, always had a warm side for Olevi- 
anus after that ; and ultimately Olevianus became his 
court-preacher at Heidelberg. 

Thus Olevianus, by this accident, was led to devote 
his life to the ministry. It is true, he continued the 
study of law at Bourges ; but his heart was given to 
the study of God's Word. He received the degree of 
doctor of laws at Bourges in 1557, and returned to his 
native city Treves in 1558. Louder and louder came 
the call to him to enter the gospel ministry. So, to pre- 
pare himself for it, he went to Geneva to study with 
Calvin. While at Geneva, he became fully acquainted 
with the Reformed Church, — was educated in her bo- 
som. But although thus educated in the French Re- 
formed Church, he felt he was called to preach the gos- 
pel to the Germans rather than to the French ; aud his 
heart yearned for his native city of Treves. To fit him- 



160 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



self for this work among the Germans, he went to Zu- 
rich in German Switzerland, to sit at the feet of Peter 
Martyr. But he soon after returned to Calvin at Ge- 
neva, to complete his studies. On his journey to Ge- 
neva he met that fiery reformer, William Farel. This 
glowing herald of the gospel, as he had called Calvin at 
Geneva to labor there, now urged Olevianus to cut short 
his studies and to return to Treves, to preach there. Ole- 
vianus refused a call by the Reformed church of Metz, 
so that he might proclaim the gospel in the city of his 
birth. He knew that there were those in Treves who 
were favorable to the gospel. Through the influence of 
the reformation at Cologne, and also in the neighboring 
Palatinate, many had become evangelical at Treves. So 
he urged Calvin to write to Otto Seel and Peter Sierk, 
members of the city council of Treves, who were known 
to be favorable to the gospel. True to his vow at Bour- 
ges, he now returned to Treves, to preach the gospel. 
Through the influence of his friends he obtained the po- 
sition of a Latin teacher in the High School or Bursa, 
an endowed school, which had then become almost ex- 
tinct. His position as teacher gave the opportunity he 
desired, to infuse the gospel of Jesus into the minds of 
his scholars. It was his duty to lecture to the scholars 
on the dialectics of Melancthon. These were filled with 
Scripture references, and thus made the scholars' minds 
familiar with the Bible. But as these 'dialectics' were 



HE PREACHES AT TREVES. 



161 



in Latin, he thought they would make more progress in 
Scriptural truth, if he taught them in German. He be- 
gan lecturing in German on the catechism. And his 
German lectures drew many of the citizens, as well as 
the scholars, to hear him. These admirers of his, finally 
desired him, though a layman,* to hold divine service. 
So he issued a public call to evangelical preaching, and 
was made a preacher of the Word. He was unordained, 
yet he preached without ordination, as did many, in the 
days of the reformation. He nailed a call to worship 
on the Steip or city hall of Treves, inviting the citizens 
to an evangelical service on St. Lawrence day, August 
10th, between the hours of eight and ten at the Bursa.f 
So a great crowd of people, instead of going to mass that 
morning, repaired to the High School, to hear Olevi- 
anus. Among them were the leading men of the place, 
as the leading burgomaster, John Stuyss ; and Otto Seel 
and Peter Sierk, city councillors. Olevianus preached 
on justification by faith, and also against the worship of 
saints, masses, and against processions, for which the city 
of Treves has always been very famous. But the city 
clerk was present at this service, and he did not fail to 
notify the Catholic clergy of what was going on. The 
following day Olevianus was ordered to appear before 
the city council. The council had in it many members 

*Sudhoff, Olevianus and Ursinus, page 47. 
fThe city hall on which he nailed the notice is the present 
Rothes Haus in the market. 



162 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

who were favorable to Oleviarms and the gospel ; and 
they finally compromised with the Catholics hy allow- 
ing Olevianus to preach anywhere, except in the Bursa, 
as it was an endowed school, and its funds would thus 
be perverted. They allowed him to teach there, but or- 
dered him to use Latin, and not German, in his teach- 
ing. Olevianus, in his defence, declared that he would 
die for the gospel, if it were necessary, as there was 
nothing that his fatherland needed so much as the Word 
of God. His answer reveals the true martyr spirit and 
shows his consecration. The evangelical citizens, with 
burgomaster Stuyss at their head, then presented a re- 
quest to the council that they be allowed to worship ac- 
cording to the Augsburg confession, which liberty was 
granted by the Augsburg Diet of 1555. The Catholics 
answered that Treves was not under the Emperor, and 
hence not bound by that Diet ; but that it was under its 
own Elector, and he forbade it. Had Treves been a 
free city like Strasburg, and not been under the control 
of the Elector of Treves, it would have had a right to 
allow Protestant worship. But that Augsburg Diet de- 
clared that "like prince, like people;" as the prince 
was a bigoted Catholic, the people ought to be so, too. 
Still, the Protestants hoped to be able to maintain their 
worship. The Catholics then answered that Olevianus 
was not an adherent of the Augsburg confession, but a 
Calvinist. Olevianus, to prove that he was an adherent 



PROTESTANTISM AT TREVES. 



163 



of the Augsburg confession, and that he had the right 
to preach, signed that confession no less than three times 
at Treves, even under oath. So Olevianus began preach- 
ing the gospel at the St. Jacob's church in the Fleisch- 
gasse. This St. Jacob's church was not under the con- 
trol of the clergy, but of the city, whose council allowed 
him to preach there. This church soon became too 
small, as nearly one-half of the town declared themselves 
favorable to Protestantism. Whole guilds, as of the 
weavers, smiths and tailors, supported Olevianus. The 
most decided guild against him were the superstitious 
sailors, who sailed the boats on the Moselle. Among 
those who declared themselves won by his preaching 
were, to his great joy, his two brothers — the one a gold- 
smith, and the other a physician. 

As the crowd was becoming very great, and the dan- 
ger was also becoming great, the evangelicals sent to the 
Count of the neighboring Zweibriicken, whose territo- 
ries adjoined theirs, for help and protection. They 
asked the Count to loan them a preacher. The Count 
was so glad to hear that Treves was receiving Protest- 
antism, that he sent them his leading minister, the su- 
perintendent Flinsbach, to aid Olevianus in his work at 
Treves. Flinsbach, after he arrived at Treves, wrote 
to the Count that not only was the altar of the church 
full of people, standing ; but even the windows and every 
place where the people could hear. In the meantime, 



164 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



however, word had been sent from Treves to the Elector 
of Treves at Augsburg, acquainting him with the spread 
of Protestantism in his own city. When he returned, 
he came back with soldiers, so as to quell this uprising 
by force. But although he came with 170 cavalry, the 
courage of the Protestants rose w r ith their danger. Flins- 
bach, being under the protection of the Count of Zwei- 
brucken, sent a notice to the Elector that these Evan- 
gelicals were under the protection of the Augsburg con- 
fession, w T hich had been made legal in 1555. And not 
only was it the Evangelicals who opposed the Elector, 
but a large party of the Catholics opposed him ; because 
when he came with troops, they felt that he was men- 
acing the liberties of their city. The Elector, finding 
that he could not enter the city, took up his position at 
Pfalzel, three-quarters of a mile from Treves. From 
this point he began to harass the citizens. He laid waste 
the fields and the gardens of the citizens, and even tried 
to cut off the water supply of the city. The citizens, 
who ventured out of the city into the fields, were plun- 
dered ; and the market people, who brought produce, 
were kept from entering the city. The result of this 
petty siege was, that it soon became uncomfortable for 
those who were in the city. So a part of the Catholic 
party in the city went over to the Elector. On October 
8th the Elector sent word, that if the Evangelicals would 
send him 20,000 dollars and leave the city, he would 



PROTESTANTS DRIVEN OUT. 



165 



withdraw his troops. This was adding insult to injury, 
to ask money of them in addition to the persecutions 
they had received. They claimed that they were pro- 
tected by the peace of Augsburg, which allowed to ad- 
herents of the Augsburg confession their worship. But 
the Catholic element in the city began to ferment. Two 
trades, the sailors and coopers, favored the Catholics. 
These spent days and nights at the taverns, spreading 
reports unfavorable to the Protestants. But the Protest- 
ants were not idle. They sent ambassadors to the neigh- 
boring Protestant princes, as Zweibriicken, Hesse and 
the Palatinate, asking their intercession with the Elector 
and their aid. Still, as time passed on, the Elector suc- 
ceeded in influencing more and more of the Catholic 
party in the city over to his side, so that at last he was 
strong enough to enter the city and quarter his soldiers 
on the Protestant citizens. Burgomaster John Stuyss 
was placed under arrest, and Olevianus and Flinsbach 
were summoned before the council to answer for their 
conduct. In the meantime ambassadors from Zwei- 
brucken, Hesse and the Palatinate arrived to intercede 
for these Protestants, that they might have the right to 
worship in Treves, because they were Lutherans. But 
the Elector raised the point, that they were not Luther- 
ans, but Calvinists, as Olevianus had been educated un- 
der Calvin. So Olevianus and twelve others were put 
under arrest ; but were finally allowed to leave the city, 



166 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

after the payment of a fine of 3,000 florins. These per- 
secuted Protestants went to Strasburg, and to the neigh- 
boring Palatinate, as at Beldenz, Trarbach and Duse- 
mond. 

Thus Protestantism came to a sad end at Treves. 
Had Treves been a free city, like its neighbor Stras- 
burg, Protestantism would have gained the city. But 
Treves was the seat of a spiritual elector, and the Elec- 
tor of Treves crushed out the reformation. Had Ole- 
vianus appeared in Treves twenty years earlier, when 
the former Elector of Treves with the Elector of May- 
ence was on the point of following Elector Herman of 
Cologne into the Protestant camp, great results would 
have been accomplished. And had these spiritual Elec- 
tors of Cologne, Treves and Mayence followed the tem- 
poral Electors of Saxony, Palatinate and Brandenberg 
into Protestantism ; the next Emperor of Germany, whom 
they would have elected, would have been a Protestant, 
or else a Catholic favorable to Protestantism. But that 
opportunity was lost when Herman of Cologne was not 
supported by the Lutheran princes and so lost his Elec- 
torate. After this persecution of 1560, Treves became 
a stronger Catholic city than ever. The Protestants 
were driven out, and the Jesuits came in, to reclaim it 
from its heresy. Its deliverance from heresy is still 
commemorated, we understand, by the observance of the 
Olevianus procession on Whitmonday, whose object is 



EFFECT IN TREVES. 



167 



to thank God for the deliverance of the city from 
heresy preached by Olevianus, and to confirm it in the 
Catholic faith. For almost 250 years no Protestant 
service was allowed in Treves. But in 1817 a Protest- 
ant church was opened, the first sermon being preached 
by Rev. Dr. Kupper, then general superintendent of the 
Rhine provinces. His congregation numbered 1,500 
souls in 1855. By a curious coincidence this Protestant 
congregation worships in the basilica of Constantine, 
where, in the fourth century, before Catholicism had yet 
come to Treves, the pure, simple faith of Christ had 
been preached. The Protestants then merely re-intro- 
duced the simple faith of Constantine to Treves. 

Treves, by this persecution, lost its best citizens and 
artisans. She has never recovered her former pros- 
perity. While her persecution only spread the flames 
of the gospel to other places. Most of the refugees went 
to Strasburg and the Palatinate, but one of them, Heid- 
feld, went to Wesel in 1559, where he aided in intro- 
ducing the Reformed faith. Flinsbach, being in the 
employ of the Count of Zweibrucken, was sent home 
safely by the Elector of Treves. He had labored will- 
ingly with Olevianus, although he was a Lutheran and 
Olevianus a Calvinist ; for he was a Melancthonian. 
Flinsbach finally came to a sad end eleven years later. 
As he was returning from a church visitation in the 
county of Sponheim, he was compelled to stop over 



168 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



night at the house of a Catholic priest. This priest rec- 
ognized the hated Protestant who had so helped the 
heretics at Treves, and poisoned him. He was hardly 
able to get home to Zweibrucken, when he died and 
was buried in the Alexander church. Far otherwise 
was it with Olevianus. He remained ten weeks in prison, 
charged with setting the city on fire with false doc- 
trines, and also charged with desiring the murder of the 
bishop. The neighboring princes, however, interceded 
for him. Count Wolfgang of Zweibriicken was very 
anxious to gain him for his land. But Elector Fred- 
erick III. of the Palatinate, who felt under personal ob- 
ligations to Olevianus for trying to save the life of his 
son from drowning at Bourges, finally secured Olevi- 
anus' release, and called him to be professor at the Sa- 
pienz College at Heidelberg. From this, Olevianus was 
made professor of theology in the university. As pro- 
fessor of theology he taught Calvinism. He made an 
extract of Calvin's theology, and it was so favorably re- 
ceived, especially by Farel, that it was printed. He 
aimed to bring the students and the Palatinate church 
over to full Calvinism. But a larger field, just suited 
to his tastes, soon opened to him. He was appointed 
a member of the consistory and court-preacher in 1561, 
and also preacher in St. Peter's church and in the church 
of the Holy Ghost at Heidelberg. He was a man of 
great executive ability, an eloquent preacher and a fervid 



THE TWO AUTHORS. 



169 



writer. Olevianus was a strict Calvinist, and so was 
Ursinus ; only Ursinus was better acquainted with the 
various phases of Lutheran doctrines in Germany. 

These were the two men selected by Elector Fred- 
erick III. to compose his catechism. In many respects 
they complement each other. The one a scholar and 
professor, the other a preacher and administrator ; the 
one the head, the other the heart, of the catechism. 
Olevianus and Ursinus were mated to each other as Da- 
vid and Jonathan, Peter and John, Luther and Me- 
lancthon, and Zwingli and Ecolampadius, the one com- 
plementing the other. The compositions of both are 
stronger than the writings of either. Both were young 
men when appointed to this responsible position of com- 
posing a catechism. Ursinus was 28, and Olevianus 26 
years of age. But it is noticeable that the great theolog- 
ical writings of the reformers appeared when they were 
young men. Genius was precocious in the days of the 
reformation. Thus, Calvin wrote his Institutes at the 
early age of 26, and Melancthon his ' Loci Communes' 
at 24. Says a writer, of Olevianus and Ursinus : "Be- 
cause of their youth and ripeness of intellect, the Hei- 
delberg catechism united the warmth of first love with 
the light of profound depth of thought, the free inspira- 
tion of youth with the riper experience of mature age." 
12 



CHAPTER II. — SECTION III. 
The Heidelberg Catechism and its Composition. 

A Dumber of very interesting topics come up in con- 
nection with the composition of the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism. We will consider them under five heads : A, 
the aim of its composition ; B, the previous materials 
used ; C, the share each author had in its composition ; 
D, the doctrinal position of the catechism ; E, the edi- 
tions and translations of the catechism. 

A. — The Aim of its Composition. 

Several reasons have been given why Frederick 
wanted to have a new catechism. One reason suggested 
was, that Frederick hoped by this catechism to unite 
the Lutherans and the Reformed. This has not been 
suggested by any of the higher authorities on the cate- 
chism, but by an unknown author, whom Niceron quotes. 
It is very easy to see that this was not the reason. 
Frederick III., before he undertook its composition, had 
very decidedly broken away from Lutheran ism by his 
reforms at Heidelberg. Although still under the pro- 
tection of the Altered Augsburg Confession, he had 
changed Lutheran customs most decidedly, although he 



AIM OF ITS COMPOSITION. 



171 



had not so openly attacked her doctrines as yet. He 
had evidently given up all hope of reconciliation with 
the high Lutherans. We shall also see farther on,* that 
the doctrinal position of the catechism was not such as 
to make it a middle ground between Lutheranism and 
Calvinism. The catechism is Calvinistic, although 
moderate in its statements of Calvinism. It does not oc- 
cupy any such middle ground as Melancthonianism. It 
failed to satisfy the low Lutherans, how could it have 
been expected to satisfy the high Lutherans ? No, the 
object was not to bring about a reconciliation between 
the Lutherans and the Reformed. The reasons for its 
composition, as suggested by Henry Alting, a high au- 
thority, were : first, the strife caused by the use of dif- 
ferent catechisms in use in the Palatinate. This was 
the immediate cause. Brenz's catechism, the work of 
his earlier years, when he was Melaacthonian, had been 
introduced into the Palatinate by Otto Henry. Lu- 
ther's catechism had been introduced by Hesshuss, and 
was used by the high Lutherans. And between these 
two catechisms there was such a difference, that there 
was strife among the ministers and bewilderment among 
the people. Then, too, the foreign Dutch and French 
refugee churches had brought with them Lasco's or Cal- 
vin's catechism. The use of all these opposing cate- 
chisms gave rise to quarrels. Frederick decided that 



*Part D in this Section. 



172 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the easiest way out of the difficulty was to publish a 
new catechism. 

A second reason, suggested by Altiug, was, that the 
Elector wished to secure an agreement of the Palatinate 
churches on doctrine, especially on the doctrine of the 
person of Chiist and the sacraments. He wanted a 
creed that would clearly state these doctrines over against 
the new doctrine of ubiquity, to which he was bitterly 
opposed. These two reasons are proved to be true by 
the Elector's introduction to the catechism, where he says 
he sought to give unity and purity to the churches of the 
Palatinate. It is, however, to be remembered that while 
this was the general aim of the Elector, the catechism 
partook of the complexion of the times — the drift of its 
age. And as the influences at Heidelberg at that time 
were Calvinistic, or tending toward Calvinism, it be- 
came Calvinistic, especially under such strong Calvin- 
ists as Olevianus, supported by Ursinus, who was little 
less decided than Olevianus in his Calvinism. 

B. — Previous Materials Used in its Composition. 

The next question that arises is, what previous cate- 
chisms did its authors use as aids to its composition ? 
The Reformed Church by this time had produced quite 
a number of catechisms. Among the Lutherans, Lu- 
ther's and Brenz's catechisms were the most common ; 
among the Swiss, Bullinger's and Calvin's ; among the 



PREVIOUS MATERIALS USED. 



173 



Dutch, Lasco's and Micronius'. These four Reformed 
catechisms, Bulliuger's and Calvin's, Lasco's and Mi- 
cronius', seem to have been used to a greater or less ex- 
tent in the composition of the Heidelberg. Olevianus 
publicly confessed the debt he owed to the Swiss, whom 
he thanks in a letter to Bullinger. But there were also 
traces of Calvin's catechism in the Heidelberg.* 

But while these catechisms were used in the prepara- 
tion of the Heidelberg, yet it is to be remembered that 
it is an advance on all other catechisms before it. The 
previous Reformed catechisms were divided topically. 
Calvin's was divided into five parts — faith or the creed, 
the law or the ten commandments, prayer, the Bible, 
and the sacraments. Lasco's and Bullinger's were simi- 
larly divided into topics. But the Heidelberg was an 
improvement on these artificial divisions. For it welded 
all these parts into an organic whole. The reader passes 
from one point in it to another without any violent 
change. Thus we learn first of sin, then of redemption, 
and then of the Christian life. And yet these natural 

-^Especially in answers 25, 27, 28, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 
67, and also in the answers on the ten commandments, and 
Lord's prayer and chnrch discipline. (Sudhoff, Olevianus and 
Ursinus, page 92.) The catechism of Micronius is referred to in 
answers 20, 21, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36, 45, 49, 55, 56, 81, 82, 101 and 102. 
Lasco's catechism is referred to in the close of 1, 53, 54, 66, 69, 
70, 74, 108 and 124 ; (see Bartel's Life of Lasco, page 54.) For a 
fuller discussion of the use of previous materials, the reader is 
referred to the works quoted here, and to larger works on the 
catechism, as Van Alpen's, Sudhoff's, Dalton's and Kocher's. 



174 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



and logical divisions included, in them, all the artificial 
divisions of the other catechisms. The Heidelberg cate- 
chism is the first to show this organic method. 

Another peculiarity of the Heidelberg Catechism, 
which was an advance on previous catechisms, was the 
number of proof texts quoted in it. It was the first 
catechism to fasten and found itself so closely on the 
Word of God. The early catechisms of Luther had al- 
most no proof texts quoted in them. 

The most prominent catechisms of the Protestant 
Church have been Luther's, the Heidelberg, and the 
Westminster. By comparing the Heidelberg with Lu- 
ther's, which preceded it ; as well as with the Westmin- 
ster, which followed it, we can notice the peculiarities of 
our catechism. In Luther's catechism the central prin- 
ciple, the guiding thought, is the sacraments ; in the 
Westminster it is election ; in the Heidelberg it is grace 
or redemption. The Westminster is the theological 
catechism ; the Heidelberg the soteriological, and Lu- 
ther's the ecclesiological catechism. 

If we compare the Heidelberg with Luthers, we 
find that Luther's is much shorter. It has only 40 
questions to 129 questions in the Heidelberg. The 
greatest difference is in the doctrine of the sacraments, 
although they differ on other minor points. They dif- 
fer in the arrangement of the ten commandments. In 
Luther's catechism, the ten commandments are placed at 



COMPARISON OF CATECHISMS. 



175 



the beginning of the catechism ; in the Heidelberg they 
are placed near the end. The Heidelberg does not stop 
with merely the ten commandments ; but, in addition, 
gives the fuller New Testament version of the com- 
mandments in Christ's law of love. The Heidelberg 
follows the Biblical division of the ten commandments, 
instead of the Catholic division, which Luther's follows. 
In the creed, the Heidelberg catechism translates the 
clause, e a holy Catholic, Christian Church/ while Lu- 
ther's drops the word ' Catholic' altogether. They also 
differ on the Lord's prayer. The Heidelberg divides 
the Lord's prayer into six parts ; Luther's into seven. 
Luther's says 'Father our' after the 'Pater noster' of 
Catholics ; while the Heidelberg uses 'Our Father,' as it 
is used in the Bible. The Heidelberg uses 'from the 
devil' in the clause 'deliver us from evil,' which Lu- 
ther's uses. The Heidelberg is very severe against the 
use of pictures in churches, while the Lutheran cate- 
chism does not refer to them at all. 

Comparing the Heidelberg with the Westminster, 
we find it differs from the Westminster by its use of the 
first person, all the wav through the catechism. This 
makes it not so much a statement of doctrine, as of per- 
sonal experience. It is a personal catechism rather than 
a dogmatic one. "For the Heidelberg catechism was 
published in the Pentecostal season of the reformation." 
It has an unction not revealed by other catechisms. " Th<.' 



176 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Heidelberg is more experimental, the Westminster more 
scholastic ; the Heidelberg is more emotional, the West- 
minster more intellectual ; the Heidelberg is more de- 
votional, the Westminster more doctrinal." One great 
peculiarity of the Heidelberg catechism is, that it so 
closely follows personal experience. Its three-fold di- 
vision exactly corresponds with the religious experience 
of every believer. Its second answer divides it into 
three parts — first, conviction of sin ; second, conversion 
to Christ ; third, the Christian life of thankfulness. In 
doing this it is scriptural, for it follows Paul's arrange- 
ment of doctrine as given by him in his theological In- 
stitutes, his Epistle to the Romans. The first part of 
the catechism corresponds to Romans 1:18 to 3 : 20 ; 
the second part to Romans 3 : 20 to 11 : 36, and the third 
part to Romans 12:1 to the end of the Epistle. 

C. — The Share each Author had in its Publication. 

It would be a very interesting study to decide what 
part of the catechism Ursinus wrote, and what part 
Olevianus composed. But this would be a very diffi- 
cult task ; as both seem to have welded their work so 
closely together that no differences can be discovered. 
Different commentators on the catechism have varied in 
the parts, which they assign to the one or the other au- 
thor. Each of the authors seems to have made a pre- 
liminary preparation. Ursinus prepared two Latin 



SHARE OF EACH AUTHOR. 



177 



catechisms — a larger one for mature minds, and a smaller 
one for children and beginners. Olevianus prepared a 
preliminary work on Grace, which w r as a favorite theme 
of his. Both of these works were used toward the com- 
position of the catechism. But it is very difficult to ob- 
serve where the labors of one author ended, and of the 
other began. Perhaps the outlines were suggested by 
Ursinus, and the adaptation by Olevianus. The depth 
of thought and theological exactness came from Ursi- 
nus ; while the simple, popular style of expression came 
from Olevianus. The Latin was from Ursinus, the 
fine fluent German, from Olevianus. The doctrinal part 
was probably influenced more by Ursinus, the prac- 
tical part, by Olevianus. Sudhoff imputes the first an- 
swer to Ursinus ; while the answers 83 to 85 on the 
power of the keys and church discipline are imputed to 
Olevianus ; as the substance of each of those answers is 
found in his previous writings. But, doubtless, each an- 
swer was considered and re-considered by each author 
in succession ; until no part of the catechism is by either 
one, but each part is by both.* It is a remarkable fact 

*And yet this unity is all the more remarkable when we re- 
member the differences between the two men. As Rev. Dr. 
Nevin, in his introduction to the catechism, remarks : " The 
catechism is the joint production of both, and it was this, not in 
the way of any mechanical, putting together of their different 
compositions ; but in the way of an organic fusion, which refers 
the whole work to both authors, and makes it impossible to 
know or say what in it belongs to one and what to the other. 
This curious fact becomes still more curious when regard is had 



178 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



that the united work of the two is better than any work 
composed by either of them alone. The one seems to 
complement and supplement the other. Nor should we 
forget the influence of the Elector Frederick himself 
in the composition of the catechism. Although he was 
not the author of it, he was its patron. Counsellor Rit- 
mayer says : "Although the Elector availed himself of 
the services of the Palatinate doctors, Ursinus and Ole- 
vianus, in the preparation of the catechism, yet they 
did not venture to insert anything which the Elector 
had not approved." 

D. — The Doctrinal Position of the Catechism. 

The doctrinal position of the catechism is Calvin- 
ism, but Calvinism moderately stated. That Ursinus 
and Olevianus were Calvinists, there can be no doubt. 

to the difference of temperament which we know to have ex- 
isted between the two men. Ursinus standing before us, as one 
born to occupy the lecturer's chair, didactic, dialectic, theoretic, 
and we may say, respectably dry. In Olevianus, on the other 
hand, we have the man of action and eloquence, the practical 
reformer, and the ardent, popular preacher. They seem not 
such men, as, one would expect, would get along harmoniously 
together in a work of this sort. And yet their joint labors 
were in truth perfectly harmonious ; so that it is hardly too 
much to say that we may find the spirit of Ursinus married to 
the spirit of Olevianus in the whole composition of the catechism 
from beginning to end. With all this must be considered, in 
the second place, that the whole work was planned and executed 
within the course of less than a year. It was the will of the 
prince that his favorite measure for the reformation of the Pa- 
latinate should as quickly as possible be carried into effect, and 
the men who were charged with the pieparatior, went to work 
accordingly with a haste that seemed hardly compatible with 
the solemnity and greatness of the undertaking." 



ITS DOCTRINAL POSITION. 



179 



Their other works reveal them as mpre Calvinistic than 
the catechism expresses.* Either they did not think it 
expedient to express the hard points of Calvinism for 
fear of offending the Lutherans ; or else, as the Heidel- 
berg catechism was intended to be a popular treatise on 
theology, they purposely avoided the deep philosophical 
statements of Calvinism. But the catechism has a 
thoroughly Calvinistic basis throughout. Its doctrinal 
position may be stated as moderately Calvinistic. Heppe, 
one of the church historians of Germany, holds that the 
catechism was Melancthonian or low Lutheran ; Sud- 
hoff, another writer, that the catechism was intensely 
Calvinistic ; Ebrard, that it expresses the sublapsarian 
school of Calvinism, afterwards adopted in France. But 
if the catechism were Melancthonian, it would never 
have been adopted by the Synod of Dort, that strict 
Calvinistic synod. And again, if it had been intensely 
Calvinistic, it never would have found favor among the 
Melancthonians of Germany, who afterwards came into 
the Reformed and adopted the catechism. The best 
view is, that it is Calvinistic ; but on its positive side, 
the negative side of reprobation not being mentioned. 
Comparing the Heidelberg catechism with Melanctho- 
nianism, we find it differs from it on many points. It 
radically opposes Melancthon's synergism. For it is 
intensely Calvinistic in its doctrine of total depravity. 

*See Sudhoff, life of Olevianus and Ursinus. 



180 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



On the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints it is 
against Melancthon's position, and is Calvinistic. It 
disagrees with Melancthon on the doctrine of the Lord's 
supper, in its reception by the impenitent. Melancthon 
held, that the impenitent ate of Christ's body and blood 
at the supper. But the Heidelberg distinctly states that 
they ate to their condemnation. This opposition to the 
communion of the impenitent caused a great stir in Ger- 
many ; for it opposed the Lutheran ideas so radically. 
The catechism is, therefore, not Melancthonian ; for it 
differs from it on too many important points. On the 
other hand, it distinctly shows the influence of Calvin- 
ism in every part. It agrees with Calvinism in total 
depravity of man. It agrees with it by teaching pre- 
destination. In answers 1, 35, 53 and 54 it teaches the 
positive side of predestination.* But it passes by the 
negative side of predestination and does not mention 
reprobation. Being an experimental and practical cate- 
chism, it leaves the deeper questions of theology to pri- 
vate opinion and theological speculation. The only 
doctrine on which it sides against the Calvinism of its 
age, is the doctrine of the universality of the atonement, 
which is referred to in the 37th answer. On the doc- 
trine of Christ's descent into hell, it follows Calvin very 
closely, by giving a figurative explanation of that doc- 
trine. In defining this clause it deviates from the plain 



*Sudhoff, 121. 



ITS CALVINISM. 



181 



facts stated all through the creed ; and, strange to say, 
becomes figurative. It, however, emphasizes an im- 
portant truth in this 44th answer ; although, perhaps, 
it is not placed exactly in its right location in the cate- 
chism. On the whole, it sides more against Melanc- 
thon than for him, and sides far more for Calvin 
than against him. To show its harmony with Calvin- 
ism, its authors had a German edition of Calvin's cate- 
chism printed in Heidelberg at the same time that the 
Heidelberg catechism appeared, and even issued them 
together in the same book. Its authors evidently 
wanted it to be Calvinistic In regard to the Lord's 
supper, it holds the Calvinistic doctrine and sets itself 
decidedly against the Lutheran doctrine of a corporal 
presence in the Lord's supper, as in answers 60, 65 to 
69, 71, 75 to 79, 81 and 82. Answers 47, 48 and 50, 
which were evidently written under the influence of 
Calvin, were severe against the Lutheran doctrine of 
ubiquity. A memorial is still extant which shows that 
the Elector approved of this attack on the doctrine of 
ubiquity. There was no Osiandrianism or pantheistic 
confusion of the natures of Christ in the Reformed 
Church of that day. Indeed, Osiandrianism was the 
bitterest foe of Calvinism ; for Funk, Osiander's son- 
in-law, could not find a bitterer accusation against the 
theologians of Wittenberg than to say they were Cal- 
vinists. The central principle or ruling thought of the 



182 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

catechism is grace, salvation by grace. The catechism 
is Christological ; because it gathers itself around Christ. 
It makes Christ the centre ; and then makes the centre 
of the doctrine of Christ to be the atonement. The cate- 
chism is full of " the satisfaction of Christ." All parts of 
the catechism point to Christ as the one offering for sin. 
Its centre is Christ, and his centre is his atonement.* 

His name is Jesus and he died, 
For guilty sinners crucified ; 
Content to die that he might win 
Their ransom from the death of sin ; 
No sinner worse than I can be, 
Therefore I know he died for me. 

I read God's holy word and find 

Great truths that far transcend my mind, 

And little do I know beside 

Of thoughts, so high, so deep, so wide ; 

This is my best theology, 

I know my Savior died for me. 

— Bethtjne. 

Many of the questions of the catechism are considered 
master-pieces of theological expression, as well as of 
popular definition. Answer 21 on faith, 27 and 28 on 
providence, 31 and 32 on the Christian name, 49 on the 
ascension of Christ, 60 on justification by faith, together 
with the exposition of the Lord's supper, Ten Com- 
mandments and Lord's prayer are very beautiful. The 
first answer on Christian Comfort is the most beautiful 
of all, for it is the summary of the catechism and of the 
Bible. Rev. Dr. Ebrard, the foremost Reformed theo- 



*Sudhoff, 112 and 113. 



ITS PRAISES BY EMINENT MEN. 183 



logian of Germany to-day, says of the Heidelberg cate- 
chism : " For wonderful union of dogmatic precision 
and genial heartiness of lucid perspicuity and mysterious 
depth, the Heidelberg stands alone. It is at once a sys- 
tem of theology, and a book of devotion. Every child 
can understand it at the first reading, and yet the cate- 
chist finds in it the richest material for profound inves- 
tigation."* Max Goebel, one of the best historians of 
the Reformed Church, says: "The Heidelberg cate- 
chism may be properly regarded as the flower and fruit 
of the entire German and French reformation. It has 
Lutheran fervor, Melancthonian clearness, Zwinglian 
simplicity and Calvinistic fire blended into one ; and 
therefore, notwithstanding many defects and angles, it 
has been, together with the Augsburg Confession of 
1540, and remains to this day, the only common con- 
fession and doctrinal standard of the entire German Re- 
formed Church from the Palatinate to the Netherlands, 
and to Brandenburg and Prussia. "f Dr. SchaflP says : 
" It combines Calvin's strength and depth without his 
severity, Melancthon's cordiality and warmth without 
his indecision, Zwingli ? s simplicity and clearness without 
his cool sobriety and aversion to the mystics." The 
Anglican delegate to the Synod of Dort said of the 
Heidelberg catechism, after he and his co-delegates had 

*Das Dogma vom Abendmahl, Vol. II., 604. 
tGeschichte des Christlichen Lebens, I., 392. 



184 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

returned home : "Our Reformed brethren on the con- 
tinent have a little book, whose single leaves are not to 
be bought with tons of gold." The poetess Anna Maria 
von Schurman, when a child four years old, recited the 
catechism to her nurse at Cologne. As she came to the 
first answer (" that I am not my own, but belong to my 
faithful Savior Jesus Christ,") she was seized with great 
and secret joy and inward love for God, and received a 
deep impression for her whole after-life. As Dr. Schaff 
in September, 1862, visited the battle fields and hospitals 
of Maryland, he found among others, a dying Southern 
soldier from North Carolina, of German origin and a 
member of the Reformed Church. He reminded him 
of the first answer of the Heidelberg catechism. The 
soldier listened with thankful emotion, and weeping said 
he could now die happy. Rev. Dr. Plitt, professor of 
theology at Bonn (formerly pastor of the church of the 
Holy Ghost at Heidelberg), tells that in his pastoral ex- 
perience, he often met men and women whose eyes 
brightened when reminded on their dying beds of the 
first answer of the Heidelberg catechism. Most of them 
knew it by heart, as they recalled it from the days of 
their childhood. Some said they did not fully under- 
stand its questions when they were children, and that 
committing it to memory had been a hard task, but now 
they thanked God they had learned it and they prayed 



EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS. 



185 



it for their comfort and strength.* Dr. Julius Stahl, an 
eminent jurist and the ablest apologist of modern Lu- 
theranism in the Prussian universities, derived his own 
conversion and the revival of the Lutheran Church in 
his native Bavaria chiefly from the late venerable Re- 
formed pastor and professor, Dr. J. Ch. G. L. Krafft at 
Erlangen, who died in 1845. Dr. Stahl said, before the 
General Synod at Berlin in 1846, "that the man who 
built up the Church in my fatherland, the most apostolic 
man I ever met in my life, pastor Krafft, was a strict ad- 
herent of the Heidelberg catechism. Whether he carried 
the Heidelberg catechism in his pocket, I know not, but 
this I know, that he caused, throughout the whole land, 
a spring time, whose fruits will ripen for eternity." 

E. — Editions and Translations of the Catechism. 

There were three editions published in 1563, before 
the catechism was fully completed in its present form. 
Germany, after the controversies of twenty years between 
high Lutherans and Melancthonians, was ripe for such 
a book. The demand for it was great, not only in the 
Palatinate, but also outside of it, in all parts of Germany 
and in other lands. The first edition was soon ex- 
hausted, and another and still another edition was run 
oif before the end of the year 1563. The catechism was 
first issued in German, but afterwards translated into Lat- 

*Studien und Kritiken, 1863. 

13 



186 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

in by Lago and Pithopeus, a Hollander. Thus the Dutch 
who afterwards clung so loyally to the catechism, had a 
part in its publication. The Latin translation was made 
that it might be used in the Latin schools and colleges 
of the Palatinate. The catechism bears on its title page 
the Palatinate escutcheon, which is a triple coat of arms, 
in the lower part of which is a globe, with a cross on top 
of it. This title page was followed by an excellent and 
elaborate preface by Elector Frederick, thus giving his 
official sanction to the book. The book was printed by 
John Mayer of Heidelberg. 

The first edition had several peculiarities. The ques- 
tions and answers were separated, but were not numbered. 
Nor was the division of the catechism into .Lord's days 
made until in the fourth edition. While the catechism 
was printed in German, yet the proof texts were printed 
in Latin type on the margin of the page. It is also notice- 
able that in the proof texts only the chapters of the Bible 
are referred to and not the verses. For the division of 
the chapters into verses made by Stephens in 1551, had 
not as yet come into popular use. The eightieth ques- 
tion of the catechism is entirely wanting in this first 
edition. There is only one copy of this edition extant. 
It belongs to Rev. Dr. Treviranus of St. Martin's church, 
Bremen. It originally belonged to Professor Herman 
Wilken, professor of Greek literature at Heidelberg, 
who was driven out of the Palatinate by the Elector 



THE SECOND EDITION. 



187 



Lewis. It has an appendix of twenty-five pages con- 
taining various prayers. A fac-simile copy of it has 
been published by Rev. Albert Wolters, and was printed 
by Marcus at Bonn in 1864.* The first edition was 
soon exhausted, and the second edition was printed. Its 
most important difference from the first was the addition 
of the eightieth question, which treats of the Lord's 
supper and the Popish mass. This answer reads in the 
second edition : " The Lord's supper testifies to us that 
we have a full pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of 
Jesus Christ, which He himself has once accomplished 
on the cross. But the mass teaches that the living and 
dead have not the pardon of sin through the suffering of 
Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by 
the priests. So that the mass at bottom is a denial of 
the one sacrifice and suffering of Christ." Frederick 
aimed to state clearly the differences between the Lord's 
supper and the mass, because some of the districts, over 
which he was joint ruler, were Catholic. He wanted to 
have Protestantism introduced into them, and so had the 
errors of the mass clearly stated. There are two copies 
of this second edition extant, one belonging to Rev. Dr. 
Wolters of Bonn, and the other in the university library 
of Utrecht. 

The third edition was published at the close of 1563. 
The great difference between the second and third 

*As this book is cheap, we would recommend its sale. It 
puts one in possession of an interesting relic. 



188 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



editions was in the eightieth answer. It was enlarged 
to its present form ; and was much more severe against 
the mass. The answer describes the mass as "an ac- 
cursed idolatry." This severe statement, seemingly out 
of harmony with the otherwise irenic character of the 
catechism, was probably made by the Elector as a 
protest against the council of Trent. The language of 
the catechism seems severe. But it must be remembered 
that strong language was the characteristic of that time. 
Compared with the decrees of the council of Trent 
against Protestantism, its language is very moderate, for 
" nobody can curse like the pope." Nor is this phrase 
' accursed idolatry' any more severe than Luther's lan- 
guage in the Smalcald articles, where he calls the mass 
a an idolatry." Frederick's predecessor, Otto Henry, in 
his church order of 1555, called it the same thing. The 
Heidelberg catechism is then the great answer of Protes- 
tantism to the council of Trent. Frederick took up its 
decrees and replied to them in the Heidelberg catechism. 
This eightieth answer has been criticised by many for its 
severity. But it has ever been a bulwark for the pu- 
rity of the Reformed faith over against any half-catholic 
forms that still lingered in the Protestant Church or were 
attempted to be introduced into her by any Puseyite in- 
novations. Protestantism must never forget its duty — 
to protest against popery outside or inside of itself. But 
Frederick did not put this answer into the catechism re- 



THE THIRD EDITION. 



189 



gardless of his theologians' feelings. He consulted with 
them just as they had consulted with him about the rest 
of the catechism. And finally he added the clause in 
his own name. We must also remember that Frederick, 
after the ideas of his day, believed that princes were a 
sort of evangelical bishops. It was their duty to defend 
the truth and to attack heresy. And so he attacked the 
errors of Rome in the decrees of Trent. But he was 
not farsighted enough to foresee the possible consequences 
to his land. He believed in the motto of his day, "Like 
prince, like people." He did not foresee the time when 
his own land might be under the control of a Catholic 
prince, and this answer of the catechism might cause 
trouble. But so it came about, and this eightieth ques- 
tion led to persecution in his land. The Elector Charles 
Phillip, who was a Catholic, afterward prohibited the 
catechism in the Palatinate, because it denounced the 
mass as an idolatry. He also persecuted the Reformed. 
It was only after the united remonstrance of Holland, 
Prussia and England, that he withdrew his opposition 
and persecution. There are two copies of this third 
edition extant. One is in the possession of Dr. Bahr of 
Carlsruhe, the other in the hands of Rev. Dr. Wolters of 
Bonn. Bound with this last copy is a German copy of 
Calvin's catechism. This third edition is the one used 
for the Tercentenary edition of our Church (the sole copy 
of the first edition not having been known at that time). 



190 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY 

Rev. Dr. Schaff in 1864, the year after our Tercenten- 
ary celebration, came across the copy of the first edition 
in the hands of Dr. Treviranus at Bremen. The edi- 
tion now in use in the German and Dutch Reformed 
Churches of America was made by Rev. Dr. Laidlie, 
originally of Scotland, but a minister at Flushing, Long 
Island, and was adopted in 1771 by the synod of the 
Dutch Church. Other editions of the catechism have 
been published by SchaflP, Harbaugh, and Fisher, and 
abbreviations of it by Van Horne, Good, Whitmer, and 
others. 

The Heidelberg catechism had many translations 
and found a wide circulation. The only book to be 
compared with it in confessional authority among the 
Reformed Churches is the second Helvetic confession, 
which, however, did not come into as popular use. 
With the exception of the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, 
Thomas £ Kempis' Imitation of Christ and Luther's 
catechism, the Heidelberg catechism has had a wider 
circulation than any book published. It was pub- 
lished in many editions in Germany. And it was trans- 
lated into many languages outside of Germany. "It 
has the pentecostal gift of tongues in a rare degree." It 
was translated into Latin for use in the schools ; into 
Greek by Robert Stephens for the use of the Patriarch 
of Constantinople ; into Hebrew by Tremellius for use 
among the Jews ; into Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, 



ITS TRANSLATIONS. 



191 



Bohemian, Polish, Hungarian, Arabic, Malay ; and 
into Singelese for use among the Dutch missionaries in 
Ceylon. An excellent translation has lately been made 
into Japanese by Rev. Ambrose D. Gring. It was intro- 
duced in Switzerland into the canton of St. Gall ; and 
the catechism of Zurich, which was the Swiss catechism, 
underwent, in 1609, a remarkable revision, that it might 
conform to the Heidelberg. It was published in 1595 
in English, by order of the Church of Scotland. In 
Scotland it superseded Calvin's catechism ; and was in 
turn superseded by Craig's catechism, which was in 
turn driven out by the Westminster. It became the 
catechism of the Reformed Church, as Luther's was of 
the Lutheran Church. A very interesting fact about 
its use has developed within the last few years. In 
1627 a Flemish merchant, named Abendroth, trans- 
lated it into Spanish. Just at that time there was a 
great tendency among the Spanish toward the gospel ; 
so that thousands and thousands were burned at stake 
or tortured by the Inquisition. This man went fear- 
lessly to Spain to scatter his Spanish Heidelberg cate- 
chisms. He was soon arrested and burned in the mar- 
ket place in Toledo, Spain. But to-day pastor Flied- 
ner uses this same catechism for his German mission 
work in Spain. This catechism was introduced into 
America in 1609 by the Dutch, and is (except the Epis- 
copalian, which was introduced in 1607) the oldest cate- 



192 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

chism in America. The Puritans did not arrive till 
later, and the Presbyterians and Lutherans later still. 
Such is the Heidelberg catechism, the sweetest, most 
precious catechism ever written ; avoiding hard points 
of theology, it clings to Christ. Its irenic character 
makes it a suitable symbol, about which all the Protest- 
ant denominations of Christendom could unite. 




Elector Frederick 111 of the Palatinate, 



CHAPTER II. — SECTION IV. 



The Defence of the Heidelberg Catechism by Elector 
Frederick III. 

When this Heidelberg catechism had been completed 
by Ursinus and Olevianus, and approved by himself, 
Frederick called together a synod of the theological 
faculty, the superintendents, and the principal pastors 
of the Palatinate, at his castle in Heidelberg, in Decem- 
ber, 1562, for the purpose of examining and approving 
the catechism.* The date of the Elector's preface to the 
catechism was January 19, 1563. But it probably did 
not appear until in February of that year. The first 
copies of it were sent by the Elector to different princes. 
By the 25th of April the Emperor of Germany acknow- 
leged the receipt of a copy of it. It was assiduously 
introduced everywhere in the Palatinate, thus driving 
out Brenz's and Luther's catechisms. Ursinus, as prin- 
cipal of the Sapienz college, gave a course of lectures on 
the catechism in Latin, which he repeated annually till 
1577. He did so, that the minds of his theological 

*Guder says it was adopted by a council of superintendents 
at Kaiserlautern : Studien and Kritiken, 1867, 15 and 82. 



194 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

students might be imbued with its teachings. After 
his death, several of his pupils published their notes of 
his lectures. But as there were discrepancies between 
them, David Pareus, who had been Ursinus' favorite 
scholar, published an authentic and carefully prepared 
edition of Ursinus' lectures in 1591 at Heidelberg.* 
But the Elector was not satisfied with reforming the 
doctrines of his Church. He also aimed to reform the 
customs of his land, both in church and state. He 
issued, July 12, 1563, a marriage law. In the same 
year he issued the Palatinate liturgy, and in 1564 a set 
of regulations for his consistory. Of these, the most 
important to us, is the Palatinate liturgy.f The basis 
of this Palatinate liturgy were Calvin's and Lasco's lit- 
urgies. It contains directions for the worship in the 
churches, and also gives a number of forms for religious 
services. It orders that the preaching and the service 
should be founded on the word of God. It contains 
directions and forms for baptism, directions for catechi- 
zation, directions and forms for preparatory service and 
the Lord's supper, directions for alms, prayers before 
and after sermon, prayer after preaching on the cate- 
chism, directions for week-day services, universal prayer, 

*Rev. Dr. G. W. Williard in 1851 made an excellent English 
translation of them. 

fFor a reprint of the edition of the Palatinate Liturgy of 1567, 
see "Die Evangelischen Kirchenordnungen des 16ten Jahrhun- 
derts," by Richter. 



THE PALATINATE LITURGY. 



195 



morning and evening prayers, directions for the celebra- 
tion of feast days and for marriage, visitation of the sick 
and dying, and directions for visiting prisoners, and for 
funerals.* In regard to the catechism, as most of the 
people of the Palatinate had been brought up in the 
Catholic faith without religious instruction, it orders that 
selections from the catechism should be read in all vil- 
lages before preaching, so that the summary of the cat- 
echism might be read through in nine Sundays. It also 
orders that in towns where afternoon service is held, 
there should be catechetical preaching. This was the 
origin of catechetical preaching, which began in the Palat- 
inate. The Genevan church knew nothing of preaching 
to older persons, but required the use of the catechism 
only for children. This catechetical preaching continued 
in the Palatinate until the beginning of the present cen- 
tury. Ullman says he heard catechetical preaching in 
the church of the Holy Ghost by the departed Abegg, 
which left impressions on him which he never forgot. 
In this catechetical preaching the Heidelberg catechism 
was gone over once in a year. The Lord's supper is 
ordered to be celebrated in towns once a month, in vil- 
lages once in two months, and in both on Easter, Whit- 
sunday and Christmas. Very noticeable is the order 

*In later editions published by Elector Charles, 1684, the di- 
rections are most of them placed first, then follows the Heidel- 
berg catechism, and then the various forms. But the earlier 
editions had the directions scattered through the forms. 



196 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

for church discipline, with which the rubric for the 
Lord's supper closes. 

Preparatory service, instead of confession, as in the 
Lutheran and Catholic Churches, was held on Saturday 
before communion. Young people were received into 
the church at each communion, but not by confirmation, 
which was unknown until later, although there was an 
earlier form called 'firmung.' This liturgy orders that, 
of the church year, only the festivals which emphasize 
the facts of Christ's life should be celebrated, Christmas 
and the day following, New Year, Easter and the day fol- 
lowing, Ascension day, Whitsunday and the day following. 
The rest of the church year is carefully dropped. There 
is no mention of Advent, Epiphany, Trinity Sunday, and 
other sacred days. They wanted to avoid as much as 
possible the multitudinous feast days of the Catholic 
Church. The Liturgy orders the singing of Psalms, but 
in German, not in Latin, as the Catholics had done. 
The ministers were ordered to wear suitable clothing 
during the discharge of their duties ; but there is no 
order to wear gowns.* In the towns, Wednesday and 
Friday were selected as days for prayer. In villages 
there was only one service during the week. It also 
ordered that all Romish or superstitious ceremonies 
should be put away at funerals. This liturgy was 

*" Furthermore ministers shall use genteel clothing and plain 
apparel in the discharge of their duties, as on other occasions." 
Translation of the liturgy in the Mercersburg Review, 1851. 



THE PALATINATE LITURGY. 



197 



thoroughly Calvinistic in tone. It contained no high 
churchism or sacramentarianism, as we understand it in 
this day. There was no absolution of sin, only a con- 
fession of sin. There was no reference to Scripture les- 
sons for each Sabbath of the church year ; indeed, no 
reference to the church year at all, except that it ordered 
the feast days, which commemorated the great facts of 
Christ's life and death, to be observed. All other names 
for Sabbath, and all other feast days, were dispensed 
with. There were no pericopes or Scripture lessons for 
each Sabbath. They do not seem to have had them in 
the Palatinate. No litany is given. The Reformed 
everywhere opposed the chanting of the litany as formal. 
The word altar is never used, but carefully avoided, be- 
cause they were so opposed to the sacramentarianism of 
the Lutheran altar. And there is room left for free 
prayer at the services ; as there are no forms given for 
certain parts of the service. The true idea of this Pa- . 
latinate liturgy was, that it was a directory of worship 
(like the recently adopted Order of Worship of the Ger- 
man Reformed Church of America), not a liturgy.* 
The liturgy was closely related to the catechism. It 
contained the catechism in it. But in style it was some- 

*Liturgies may be said to be of three kinds, sacramentarian, 
responsive and non-responsive liturgies. The Palatinate lit- 
urgy is not sacramentarian, for it has no altar nor priest in it. 
It is not responsive in the sense that liturgies of to-day are re- 
sponsive ; that is, there is no elaborate antiphonal answering of 
minister and people, nor antiphonal singing. Indeed, it could 



198 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



what heavier, more didactic than the catechism, and 
lacked its glow and warmth. 

There was also a consistorial order published in 
1564. It placed all the church affairs under the con- 
trol of the consistory. The Church and state were to be 
separate arms of government. The Sapienz college, 
where ministers were trained, was placed under the con- 
trol of the consistory. This consistory was to supply 

not have been thus elaborately responsive ; for the people at 
that time did not have a liturgy in their hands from which to 
respond. The minister had the only copy in the church. Books 
were scarce, and many of the people could not read. These 
things made responsive worship (as we have it in some churches 
to-day) out of the question. The only response mentioned in 
the early Palatinate liturgy is the word ' yes' at the preparatory 
service. And this was used, because, as so many of the people 
had just come from Romanism, the Church wanted to convince 
herself that the communicants stood in personal faith of the 
truths of tne gospel, before they were admitted to the sacra- 
ment. With this brief exception, the liturgy is non-responsive. 
The Reformed Church always had this idea of liturgies. They 
were non-responsive, and merely directories of worship. And 
as the Church grew in experience and piet.v, they were grad- 
ually dispensed with in many of the churches in their daily 
Sabbath services, although used on sacramental occasions. 
There is no elaborate responsive service in them. The liturgy 
was afterwards cast aside, and we believe is not used at present 
in the Reformed churches of Germany in the Sabbath services, 
except, perhaps, in Hesse. The great aim of the service was 
not the liturgy, as in the Episcopal and Lutheran churches ; but 
the liturgy was used as merely a help to the service, and sec- 
ondary to it. This liturgy was intended to teach the ministry 
and people (many of whom had just come out of Catholicism) 
how to hold Protestant worship. It was to be a guide to the 
people, until they had learned to worship God aright. It was 
also intended to unify the worship of the churches throughout 
the Palatinate. 



OPPOSITION TO CALVINISM. 



199 



the churches with ministers, to watch over them, and 
also to attend to the discipline and excommunication of 
the members in the churches. The church order re- 
quired that a synod should be held yearly, in which the 
consistory was represented by two members. This 
church order produced an excellent state -of religious 
life in the Palatinate. The Reformed people have to 
thank Frederick for this thorough organization of the 
consistory, which afterwards stood as a bulwark against 
the Roman Catholic reaction under Louis XIV. of 
France. 

But the most critical time in the history of the Re- 
formed Church in Germany w T as approaching. She was 
in danger of being strangled in the cradle at her birth. 
The Lutheran theologians and princes gradually united 
against Frederick and threatened him with the loss of 
his electorate. For the publication of the catechism had 
raised a gieat storm. Frederick did not desire that the 
Heidelberg catechism should be a departure from the 
Augsburg Confession (explained in a Melancthonian 
sense), which he had signed at Naumberg. But the 
high Lutherans said it was a departure from the true 
faith of the Augsburg Confession. Even the Melanc- 
thonians, as at Wittenberg and Marburg, came out 
against the Heidelberg catechism as a new departure 
from Lutheranism. They declared that the catechism 
was not even Melancthonian. The Melancthonian 



200 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

princes took alarm at the change from wafers to bread, 
the abolition of pictures, and its definition of the Lord's 
supper. The first opponents to the catechism were not 
Catholics, but Lutherans. Hesshuss issued his "True 
Warning" against the Heidelberg catechism. Flacius, 
the high Lutheran leader of North Germany, refuted 
the catechism. The Wurtemberg divines under Brenz 
and Andrea passed a censure on it, in which 18 questions 
in particular were severely criticized. Ursinus drew up 
an apology for it against Flacius' attack. He also 
issued a tract in reply to the Wurtemberg theologians. 

The princes also took up the matter as well as the 
theologians. The aged Landgrave Philipp of Hesse 
went to the trouble of visiting Frederick at Heidelberg 
to urge him, for political as well as doctrinal reasons, to 
give up his catechism. He attacked Frederick for using 
bread instead of wafers, which was contrary to Luther- 
anism. Frederick reminded him that the Bible speaks 
of bread at the Lord's supper ; and also that at Stras- 
burg baked cakes, not wafers, had always been used, 
and yet Strasburg had always been protected by the 
Augsburg Confession ; why should not he be protected 
by it too ? The Landgrave found he was answered by a 
man mighty in the Scriptures. After an ineffectual 
visit, he left Heidelberg. Then three other neighbor- 
ing princes, Prince Christopher of Wurtemberg, Mar- 
grave Charles of Baden, and Count Wolfgang of Neu- 



CONFERENCE AT MAULBRON. 



201 



berg and Zweibriicken, a triumvirate of Lutherans, 
united to urge Frederick to give up his catechism ; be- 
cause, they said, it was not in harmony with the Augs- 
burg Confession. Frederick answered that he had not 
fallen away from the Melancthonian decrees of the 
Frankford Conference. He also aimed a direct shot, 
that went home to Duke Christopher. He reminded 
Christopher that he ought not to complain about him. 
For Brenz, Christopher's theologian, had given expres- 
sion, years before, in a commentary on John, to the same 
ideas that Frederick had expressed in his catechism. 
(Brenz had done this in his earlier life, when he was 
a Melancthonian). Christopher could not answer a word 
to this. And Frederick thus showed that it was not he, 
who had departed from the Lutheranism of earlier 
years, but it was Brenz and Christopher, by their intro- 
duction of the doctrine of ubiquity. 

But, although Duke Christopher was thus worsted, 
he still labored very hard to bring Frederick back to 
Lutheranism. A conference was arranged between the 
Lutheran theologians of Wurtemberg and the Reformed 
professors of Heidelberg ; to be held at Maulbron in 
Wurtemberg. This conference was intended to bring 
both parties into union again. The conference began 
at Maulbron, April 10, 1564, and lasted for six days. 
It was a very important conference; for it defined the 
position of the Reformed over against the Lutherans. 
14 



202 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Frederick went to that conference, accompanied by his 
chancellors Ehem and Erastus, by Diller, Boquin, Ole- 
vianus, Ursinus, Dathenus and Xilander. Duke Christ- 
opher brought with him his chancellor Gerhart, and 
Brenz, Andrea, Schnepf, Biedenbach and Luke Osian- 
der. The leaders in the disputation were Andrea for 
the Lutherans, and Ursinus and Olevianus for the Re- 
formed. But the first preliminaries prophesied disunion 
rather than union. The Reformed wanted to begin the 
conference by a discussion of the Lord's supper ; but 
the Lutherans insisted that ubiquity should be made 
the starting point, as they said it was the basis of the 
Lord's supper. The Lutherans gained their point, and 
for five days ubiquity was discussed. Very soon the 
Lutherans began making polemical thrusts at the Re- 
formed, and even at the Elector • and had to be called to 
order, to take back what they had said against the Elec- 
tor. Duriug the discussion, Christopher's theologians 
relied more and more on the authority of Luther; while 
Frederick departed more and more from him, saying : 
" Luther is no apostle. He also can err." It finally 
became evident that if the conference continued in this 
wav, it would never come to an end, or only end in 
bitterness. So the conference, after discussing the 
Lord's supper for another day, without coming to any 
united conclusion, broke up. 

This conference had a wide influence. It defined 
the position of the Reformed on the doctrine of the per- 



RESULTS OF MATJLBROX. 



203 



son of Christ. It stands in history as a protest by the 
Reformed against ubiquity, or any Eutychianiscn, or 
Osiandrianism, or any theanthropic life theories. The 
Reformed theologians, in their hatred of the doctrine of 
ubiquity, defined their position very strongly against 
any fusion of the natures of Christ.* Both sides 
claimed the victory at this conference, but it was a vir- 
tual victory for the Reformed. For by this discussion 
they threw a bombshell into the Lutheran camp. This 
conference began to divide the Lutherans, and set Sax- 
ony and Hesse against Wurtemberg and Jena. For 
the acts of this conference were sent by Duke Christo- 
pher, to the universities of Wittenberg and Marburg in 
Hesse, for adoption. But, instead of being adopted by 
them, they only opened the eyes of these Melancthonian 
universities to the dangers from high Lutheran ubiquity; 
and they declared against the Wurtemberg theologians. 
The ultimate result of them, years after, was Crypto 
Calvinism in Saxony and the conversion of Hesse to the 
Reformed faith. This Maulbron conference only sep- 
arated the two denominations, instead of uniting them. 
The differences between the Reformed and Lutherans 
soon produced a terrible pamphlet war between the 
theologians of Wurtemberg and those of the Palatinate. 
It was a battle of books, a paper war. In all these 
controversies, Ursinus was compelled to act as leader, 



*Sudhoff, 260. 



204 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

which was very unpleasant to his timid, peaceful na- 
ture. Of the part he took in this Maulbron conference, 
he says in a letter written to Bullinger years later : " I 
have received a wound from this conflict which I do 
not expect to have healed in this life." After this he 
always tried to retire from controversy; although his 
clear, logical mind was frequently called upon to write 
defences for the Reformed. 

Frederick was not only attacked by Duke Christo- 
pher, but also by the other princes. A storm of danger 
was gathering, which threatened to burst over him and 
deprive him of his country. For being Reformed, he 
was ostracised by all the Lutheran princes of Germany, 
except Landgrave Philip of Hesse. Duke Christopher 
of Wurtemberg was the principal agent in working np 
the case against him. (It is strange that Christopher 
should be so ungrateful as to do this, for he owed the 
conversion of his land to a Reformed reformer, Martin 
Bucer.) It was evident that Frederick would be brought 
before the Diet at Augsburg in 1566, to answer for his 
Reformed heresy. The high Lutherans charged that 
Frederick had violated the peace of Augsburg of 1555, 
which made the Augsburg Confession of the Lutherans, 
the only Protestant creed allowed in Germany. They 
charged that Frederick had published a catechism out 
of harmony with the Augsburg Confession, and had 
therefore violated the Augsburg peace and exposed him- 



AUGSBURG CONFESSION AND CALVINISM. 205 

self to the ban of the empire. It is to be remembered 
that that Augsburg Confession forbade Zwinglianism ; 
but did not say a word about Calvinism, which came 
up later. The legal question now arose whether Cal- 
vinism (which was nearer Melancthonianism, on the sac- 
raments) would be permitted to exist in Germany under 
the protection of the Augsburg Confession, or not. The 
high Lutherans said it could not. Frederick, in reply 
to them, said he had signed the Augsburg Confession 
and still adhered to it. He claimed that the Augsburg 
Confession was drawn up to exclude Zwinglianism ; but 
not to exclude Calvinism, which had not yet appeared 
when that Confession was written. He claimed that 
his catechism was not a violation of the Augsburg Con- 
fession, but a farther development of the Wittenberg 
Concord. He reminded them that, by the Wittenberg 
Concord, the Reformed people of Strasburg had been 
given equal rights under the Augsburg Confession. He 
explained the Augsburg Confession just as the Stras- 
burg people had done ; if they had not been excluded, 
why should he be? Frederick claimed that he was 
not farther away from the Augsburg Confession than 
were many other princes of Germany, as Elector Au- 
gustus of Saxony, Landgrave Phillip of Hesse, and the 
King of Denmark. Frederick declared in the contro- 
versy, that he had never asked what Calvin or Zwingli 
taught, as he had not been baptized in the name of any 
man, but of God. 



206 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Matters were becoming quite serious. The Emperor 
as well as the princes and theologians had taken sides 
against Frederick ; and had sent word to him that he 
must give up his catechism, re-introduce the Augsburg 
Confession, and keep the peace. The Catholic princes 
joined with the Lutheran nobles against Frederick. 
Some of Frederick's Catholic neighbors, as the Bishop 
of Worms, and his superior, the Elector of Mayence, 
brought charges against Frederick, for introducing 
Protestantism into their lands, which were adjacent to 
Frederick's territory. The Bishop of Spire and the 
representatives of the monasteries that Frederick had 
suppressed in the Palatinate, also united their complaints 
against Frederick. Thus we see that from all sides 
very great and grave dangers were gathering around 
Frederick. Indeed they became so threatening that his 
brother, Count Richard of Simmern, tried to dissuade 
him from going to the Augsburg Diet in 1566. But 
Frederick's answer revealed his trust in God. He says : 
" I believe that God, who has brought me to a knowl- 
edge of the gospel, still reigns ; and if it should cost my 
blood, I would regard martyrdom as an honor, for 
which I could not sufficiently thank him in time or 
eternity. " Here shone forth in him the true martyr- 
spirit. It was the general expectation of the people of 
the Palatinate that Frederick would be deposed from 
his throne for his Calvinism, as Elector John Frederick 



AUGSBUEG DIET. 



207 



of Saxony, who was held a captive in the Emperor's 
camp for six years, had been from his Electorate. In- 
deed, while Frederick was at Augsburg, the rumor 
spread through Heidelberg that he had been condemned 
and executed. The new Reformed Church of Germany 
was in danger of being strangled in her cradle. 

The Augsburg Diet opened with great pomp and 
splendor. Frederick, appreciating the gravity of the 
situation, had sent Councillor Ehem to Augsburg as 
early as February ; although he himself did not follow 
until April. Indeed Frederick had, the previous win- 
ter, visited Elector Augustus of Saxony; and his visit 
bore fruit, as we shall see, in this Diet. Before Fred- 
erick arrived, all the Evangelical states, on March 31, 
declared they would deny any relations with Frederick, 
so long as he did not delare himself clearly and satis- 
factorily a Lutheran. (Phillip of Hesse, however, was 
not at this Diet, or Frederick might have had one 
friend to speak for him.) When Frederick arrived, a 
few days later, he found himself ostracised by both 
Catholic and Lutheran princes. He, however, heard 
that the Evangelical princes were about sending to the 
Emperor a paper defining their ecclesiastical position. 
So he hastened to the Elector of Saxony to tell him that 
he, too, desired to sign it with them. The Saxon Elec- 
tor made this known ; and a conference of the Lutheran 
princes was held, which decided that, if Frederick would 



208 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



come back, clearly and fully, to the Augsburg Confes- 
sion, he would be allowed to sign the paper. It, how- 
ever, became evident that the previous stand of the 
princes against him was weakening. The princes were 
beginning to feel the personal influence of Frederick, 
now that he was among them. And they also heard 
the earnest Evangelical preaching of his eloquent court- 
preacher (probably Diller,) whom he had brought with 
him to Augsburg. But it was Elector Augustus of 
Saxony, who now stepped forward as mediator between 
the Lutherans and Frederick. He was the only prince 
there who was friendly to Frederick, and his influence 
saved Frederick at this Diet. 

There were two or three reasons why the Elector of 
Saxony favored Frederick. One was a political one. 
Heretofore Saxony had held the foremost position 
among the Lutheran princes. But at this Diet it looked 
as if Duke Christopher of Wurtemberg had taken it 
upon himself to be the leader. And so a jealousy arose 
in the heart of the Elector of Saxony, which led him to 
oppose the machinations of the Duke of Wurtemberg 
against Frederick. Another reason why the Elector 
favored Frederick, was a theological one. The Saxon 
Elector at that time was a Melancthonian. His court 
was largely under the control of Peucer, the son-in-law 
of Melancthon, who was afterwards imprisoned for 
being a Crypto Calvinist. So Elector Augustus favored 



SYMPATHY OF AUGUSTUS. 



209 



Frederick, because he had belonged to the same party 
of Lutherans, the Melancthonians. He declared that if 
the princes assailed Frederick for his Calvinism, they 
ought also to attack the Duke of Wurtemberg for his 
doctrine of ubiquity. Frederick said to Augustus that 
he was surprised that the princes should ask him to 
come back to the Augsburg Confession ; for he had 
never been away from it. He had signed the Augsburg 
Confession, at Naumberg, and now held to it, as he had 
ever done. He also called the Saxon Elector's attention 
to the fact that the Lutherans were not united among 
themselves as to what was Lutheranism. The Witten- 
berg theologians who were Melancthonian, had pro- 
nounced against the ubiquity of Wurtemberg, as revealed 
by the Maulbron conference. Augustus thus sympa- 
thized with Frederick in his efforts against ubiquity. A 
third reason may have been a suspicion. It may have 
dawned on the Elector of Saxony that, if the chance 
were given to the high Lutherans to depose Frederick, 
his fellow Elector, they might soon cut off his head, 
too, for being a Melancthonian. His Saxon Electorate 
had once been taken away from John Frederick before ; 
it might be taken away from him again. The Evan- 
gelical princes (all except the Duke of Wurtemberg) 
now took the position that Frederick ought not to be 
condemned. 

But before the princes had come to a full agreement 
about Frederick, they received word that the Emperor 



210 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

had summoned Frederick to answer for himself for his 
Calvinism. The Emperor was Maximilian, who was 
thoroughly acquainted with the religious problems of 
Germany. Before his election to the throne, he had 
been considered such a moderate Catholic, that some had 
hoped he might turn Protestant, after he became Em- 
peror. He disappointed this hope, but always ruled 
the Protestant princes with a liberal spirit. He, how- 
ever, insisted that the Protestants should not go any 
farther from Catholicism than the Augsburg Confession. 
He was, therefore, very much opposed to Frederick's 
new catechism and to his Calvinism. So, when the 
charges were brought by the Catholic and Lutheran 
princes against Frederick, he listened to tjiem. On the 
fourteenth of May he laid the decree before the rest of 
the nobles, requiring Frederick to give up his Calvin- 
ism, to restore some of the Catholic chapters and clois- 
ters he had confiscated, to hold and to keep the Augs- 
burg peace of 1555, and to be a Lutheran. Frederick 
was sent out during the approval of the decree. He 
was then called in to answer for himself. He came, 
followed by his son John Casimir, the latter carrying 
his Bible.* 

And now came the climax of Frederick's defence of 
his beloved catechism. The scene was a grand one, as 

*Herzog says this story of carrying the Bible is probably 
not true, as there is no mention of it in Frederick's letters. Her- 
zog's History, 302. 



DEFENSE OF FREDERICK. 



211 



before the Emperor and all his princes, Frederick stood 
alone. He listened to the reading of the decree against 
him ; and then made a defence, marvellous in its conse- 
cration and eloquence. It revealed the noble soul of 
his Christian character. At the beginning of his ad- 
dress, he acknowledged himself willing to be obedient 
to the Emperor in all things, except when the salvation 
of his soul came into question. He confessed he knew 
very little about what men called Calvinism. He had 
read none of Calvin's writings, (except his Commentary 
on Jeremiah, which Calvin had dedicated to him.) He 
had signed the Augsburg Confession at Naumberg, and 
continued in that faith. As to his catechism, it was 
founded on the Scriptures. If he was mistaken in it, 
he would be glad to have them prove it to him, as he 
was willing to be convinced. He then reminded the 
Emperor that as his father Ferdinand at his coronation 
at Frankford in 1562 was not willing to punish him 
for leaving the celebration of the mass, he should show 
the same spirit of religious toleration. " Should, how- 
ever," he said, " contrary to my expectation, my de- 
fence and the Christian and reasonable conditions which 
I have proposed, not be regarded of any account, I shall 
comfort myself in this, that my Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ has promised to me and to all who believe, that 
whatsoever we lose on earth for his sake, we shall 
receive a hundred fold in the life to come." Such was 



212 THE EEFOEMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Frederick's manly defence. So spoke the " Lather" of 
the Reformed Church at this Diet of Augsburg. Like 
Luther at Worms, he was threatened with many dan- 
gers. Like Luther, he said : " So help me God, I can 
not do otherwise." When he closed his eloquent ad- 
dress, a silence as of death reigned over the assembly. 
All felt that a Christian hero, whose strong tower of 
defence was in the word of God, had spoken. Very 
few princes of that age, or of any age, could have made 
an address at once so spiritual and so eloquent. All, 
even his enemies, could not help admiring the earnest- 
ness and manly bravery of his declaration. The only 
murmur against it was by the Catholic Bishop of Augs- 
burg,^who said something about the eightieth answer of 
the Heidelberg catechism. The Elector of Saxony was 
so much moved that he touched Frederick on the 
shoulder, saying : " Fritz, you are better than all of 
us."* The Margrave of Baden remarked to some of 
the princes at the breaking up of the session : " Why 
trouble ye this man? He is more pious than all of us." 
It is an interesting fact that Plesshuss, whom Frederick 
had deposed for opposing his Calvinism, was at Augs- 
burg at that time, in the employ of Count Wolfgang of 
Zweibriicken, and had to see the victory of Frederick. 
The Emperor was very much disconcerted by Fred- 
erick's steadfastness. From the influence of Frederick's 



*Herzog says this is mythical. 



RESULT OF AUGSBURG DIET. 



213 



address he saw that the Evangelical states would not 
vote for Frederick's expulsion. The Protestant princes 
then tried to get Frederick to give up his Calvinism 
and catechism. But he remained firm. In the pres- 
ence of Prince Casimir, he thanked them for their 
declaration that they would not condemn any one who 
agreed with the Augsburg Confession. He also brought 
before their minds the thought that, if he were deposed 
from his electorate, what came to him to-day, would 
come to them to-morrow, as had come to their brethren 
in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands through 
persecution. The Diet finally decided that although 
Frederick varied somewhat from the Augsburg Con- 
fession, yet they believed there was a possibility of com- 
ing to an understanding with him ; and on no account 
should he be deposed as a violator of the peace of 1555. 

The result of this Augsburg Diet was a victory for 
Calvinism ; although it was achieved under the protec- 
tion of the Augsburg Confession. It secured for Cal- 
vinism an existence in Germany. It gave Calvinism a 
legal standing under the Augsburg Confession. Had 
Frederick lost his case, the Reformed Church would 
have been crushed in its infancy. More than that, a 
precedent would have been begun, by which the Catho- 
lics could depose Lutheran princes, if they charged them 
with not being sufficiently Lutheran. They had al- 
ready deposed Catholic princes for becoming Protestant, 



214 THE EEFOEMED CHUECH OF GERMANY. 



as in the case of the Elector of Cologne. But they had 
never sat in judgment on any, for not being sufficiently 
Lutheran. They had never dared take that authority on 
themselves. Had this power been granted to the Catho- 
lics, it would not have been long before other Protestant 
princes would have been deposed for a like cause. The 
German princes waked up to this fear at that Augsburg 
Diet, and refused to allow the Diet to act in such a case. 

Frederick arrived safely at Heidelberg on Friday 
before Whitsunday, and was gladly welcomed by the 
people, many of whom looked on him as one risen from 
the dead ; for they never expected to see him come back 
from that Diet alive. At the preparatory service, after 
the sermon was over, he warmly grasped Olevianus' 
hand, and urged him to still greater zeal and steadfast- 
ness in the truth. On the next day he partook of the 
communion in company with his son Casimir and the 
whole congregation. 

After the Augsburg Diet was over, the Emperor re- 
mained for a time irreconcilable to Frederick for his 
Calvinism. But the close union, which appeared again 
in the Electoral college of the government, prevented 
him from taking any severe measures against Frederick. 
So a conference was ordered to be held at Erfurt in Sep- 
tember, 1566, when Elector Frederick was to be brought 
into harmony with the other Lutheran princes. This 
conference turned out to be a small one and of very lit- 



EMPEROR AND ELECTOR. 



215 



tie importance. None of the princes were present in 
person, and only a few sent deputies. The opposition 
to Frederick III. seemed to have burned itself out at 
Augsburg, and a reaction took place afterward in his 
favor. The opposition of the Emperor finally changed 
into the closest of friendships. He afterward visited 
the Elector at Heidelberg while on his way to Spire. 
At his departure the Elector presented him with a 
Spanish Bible, in which was written : " In this book is 
contained the treasure of treasures, especially the heav- 
enly wisdom, which kings, emperors and princes should 
know, if they would rule well." The Emperor prom- 
ised to read it diligently. 

Thus Frederick was declared an adherent of the 
Augsburg Confession. And yet in the same year he re- 
ceived the Second Helvetic Confession from Bullinger, 
which pledged the Palatinate to Calvinism, thus uniting 
himself with the Swiss churches. 



CHAPTER II. — SECTION V. 



The Later Life of Elector Frederick III., 1566—1576. 

Frederick, by his defence at Augsburg, had closed 
his controversies with the Lutheran princes. He had 
gained for the Reformed Church the right to exist in 
Germany. But still he was not allowed to live in peace. 
A new controversy arose. Hitherto the danger to the 
Reformed faith lay outside of the Palatinate ; now it 
suddenly rises within the Palatinate itself. It was not 
a controversy between the Lutherans and the Reformed ; 
but, among the Reformed themselves. It was the rise 
of Erastianism. The Reformed Church had in it two 
tendencies of church government. The one had origi- 
nated from Zwingli, which placed church discipline un- 
der the control of the state ; the other started from Cal- 
vin, and placed church discipline entirely under the con- 
trol of the church. It is possible that had Zwingli 
lived longer, he would have developed the latter form, 
too ; but he did not live long enough to perfect many 
of his views. So what Zwingli did not perfect, Calvin 
completed. These differences between the Reformed, on 
church government, now began to show themselves in 
the Palatinate. Erastus became the leader of the Zwing- 



CAUSE OF ERASTIANISM. 



217 



lian, Olevianus, the head of the Calvioistic party. The 
controversy originated from a very slight cause. A young 
Englishman, named Withers, came to Heidelberg to 
take the doctor's degree. He selected, as the subject of 
his theses, the topics that had been prominently dis- 
cussed in England between the Puritans and Episcopa- 
lians "on the use of gowns by the clergy and other rit- 
ualistic ceremonies of the English Church." But Bo- 
quin and Zanchius returned his theses to him. As their 
land was very friendly to England, they did not wish 
the university to formulate any deliverance that might 
give offence to the English. They ordered him to take 
new subjects, such as church discipline and excommuni- 
cation. So Withers offered this topic for discussion. 
And in doing this, he even went so far in his statements, 
as to make excommunication apply to princes, as well 
as to common people — an unheard-of doctrine at that 
time.* The disputation took place June 10, 1568, in 
the aula of the university under the presidency of Bo- 
quin. All proceeded pleasantly till toward the end of 
the discussion, when Neuser, one of the preachers of 
Heidelberg, then arose and complained that too little 
time had been allowed to those who opposed such ex- 
treme views of excommunication. So the subject was 
continued until the next day, and then to the third. 

*For Wither's theses, see Williard, Heidelberg Catechism, 
page 453. 

15 



218 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



The controversy revealed a difference between the strict 
Calvinists and the Moderates. The whole city became 
involved in it. Neuser preached on it in St. Peter's 
church the following Sabbath ; and Olevianus, pastor 
of the same church, answered him from the same pul- 
pit. The strife increased, until the Elector was com- 
pelled to use discipline to stop it. The Calvinistic party 
claimed that the eighty-fifth answer of the Heidelberg 
catechism supported their views. Then Erastus began 
to give vent to his pent-up antipathy to Olevianus, 
which had begun years before, even when the catechism 
was adopted by the synod of 1562. He now became 
very severe in his letters. He called Olevianus 'pope/ 
and Zanchius 'a down right fool ' He tried to get the 
Zurich theologians to influence their friends at Heidel- 
berg in his favor. The Zurich church sympathized 
with Erastus ; for it held that it was the duty of the 
state to punish. The Zurich church discipline was in 
the hands of the police. It held, that the Christian 
magistrate governed the church in the name of the state, 
and that it was the duty of the state to punish all of- 
fenders by bringing them before the city courts of justice 
and putting them in prison. Erastus, like them, held 
that excommunication should be left to the Christian 
magistrates as long as they did not neglect their duty. 
Bullinger tried to influence Frederick III. ; and also to 
control Ursinus, because he had been very much under 



CALVINISM AND ERASTIANISM. 



219 



the control of the Swiss, and also because he had come 
out from the Melancthonian party of Germany, which 
had not been strict in discipline. ButUrsinus remained 
true to the doctrine as laid down in the Heidelberg 
catechism, and was a strict Calvinist here. While Bul- 
linger upheld Erastus, Beza supported Olevianus. At 
Heidelberg the Erastians were Neuser, Prof. Xilander, 
Melancthon, nephew of the great Phillip Melancthon, 
and Prince Casimir, who conceived such an antipathy to 
Olevianus through this, that it was said he would not 
allow Olevianus to marry him. This rumor was, how- 
ever, contradicted, because it was said his bride (a strict 
Lutheran) insisted on being married by a Lutheran 
preacher. The Calvinistic party consisted mainly of 
foreigners, as Boquin, Zanchius, Olevianus, and others. 
The Elector was at first undecided which party to favor. 
He finally decided with Olevianus, in favor of strict 
church discipline. He, perhaps, was influenced to this 
by the example of the French Reformed church at Hei- 
delberg, which exhibited the benefits of strict discipline. 
Under such elders as Boquin, Tremellius and Zanchius, 
it revealed such a high type of piety and Christian ac- 
tivity, that the Elector desired its example of piety 
should be followed by the German churches. He or- 
dered that a board of censors or elders should be formed 
in every congregation. To them he gave the power of 
discipline and excommunication, which Erastus said be- 



220 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

longed to the state. It is, however, to be noticed that 
these elders were not elected by the members of the con- 
gregation, but appointed by the consistory. Thus it 
was not pure presbyterianism, for Erastus' opposition 
had had the effect of modifying the church government. 
Still, it was a form of presbyterianism ; for it placed 
power in the hands of the presbytery or board of elders. 
The Erastians declared that this strict church discipline 
was unscriptural and tyrannical. They held that a pres- 
bytery, armed with the power of church discipline, 
might become as tyrannical and powerful as the Catho- 
lic hierarchy and introduce persecution just as the Catho- 
lic inquisition had done. But the full development of 
Erastianism (checked at Heidelberg) appeared in Eng- 
land and Scotland more than a century later. Indeed, 
Erastus' views were not fully known until after his 
death, when his widow published them, and Beza re- 
plied to them. It is to be remembered that the word 
Erastianism was more used outside of Germany than in 
it. Erastianism afterwards meant more than Erastus 
meant. Erastus aimed to subject merely excommunica- 
tion to the state authority ; while the Erastians would 
subject the Church, in all its departments, to the state. 
In England and Scotland Erastianism was applied to 
those, who opposed the self-government of the Church, 
and who wanted to subordinate the Church absolutely to 
the control of the state. There was a distinct party in 



THE ELECTOR'S DECISION. 



221 



the Westminster Assembly, led by Selden, Lightfoot, 
Coleman and Whitlock (some of the brightest scholars 
of that body), who were Erastians. 

As the Elector sided with Olevianus, and ordered 
the introduction of the Calvinistic church government 
and the employment of discipline, Heidelberg became a 
second Geneva in morality. In a funeral sermon Tos- 
sanus says of the result of Olevianus' church discipline : 
" Every one must acknowledge that there exists in Hei- 
delberg, and in the entire Palatinate, order, quietness 
and a Christian-like state of affairs, very different from 
what has been for several years past." By a strange 
coincidence of history, Erastus himself was the first vic- 
tim of this church discipline, which he opposed. He 
was afterward excommunicated on the charge of Arian- 
ism, the instigator of the charge against him being an 
Italian, Antonio Pigasetta.* Erastus remained excom- 
municated for five years, and was then restored. 

From this controversy on church discipline we now 
come to a sadder one. While the controversy about 
church government was embittering the people of the 

*An interesting novel, somewhat tinctured by the present 
freethinking tendencies of Heidelberg University, but never- 
theless useful in giving an insight into the manners and spirit 
of the times of Erastus, was written by Geo. Taylor (Prof. Haus- 
rath of Heidelberg), entitled Clytia, and published by Gotts- 
berger of New York. Was Pigasetta a Jesuit in disguise, 
placed there to stir up trouble in the Protestant camp, as Pro- 
fessor Hausrath suggests ? 



222 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Palatinate against each other, another and a greater con- 
troversy concerning doctrine was ripening. It was the 
introduction of Arianisni into the Palatinate. Arianism 
denied the eternal existence of the Son of God, and 
hence denied the divinity of Christ. It entered the Pa- 
latinate from Italy. Some of the Erastians became 
Arians. Indeed, it is possible that some of them so 
bitterly opposed Olevianus, because they feared church 
discipline in their own cases. Looseness of doctrine 
and laxity of discipline are apt to go together. But 
Erastus, though charged with it, was not an Arian. He 
was only in bad company, — with those who were found 
to be Arians • and hence came under suspicion. The 
leaders in this new movement toward free thought in 
theology were Adam Neuser, the eloquent preacher of 
the St. Peter's church at Heidelberg, and Sylvanus, 
pastor at Ladenber'g. Both believed themselves wrongly 
treated by Olevianus. And from opposing him in 
church government, they went on to opposing him in 
doctrine. Two other ministers, Sutor of Feidenheim 
and Vehe of Kaiserlautern, declared for this new doc- 
trine. Neuser made use of his pulpit to spread his lax 
doctrines. As Olevianus was preacher in the same 
church, a conflict was inevitable. The Elector tried to 
make peace by transferring Neuser to the church of the 
Holy Ghost as the early Sabbath preacher. But the 
trouble, which had been brewing, came to a head sud- 



RISE OF AEIANISM. 



223 



denly. In 1570 Maximilian held a Diet at Spire, 
near Heidelberg. It seems that at that Diet the prince 
of Transylvania, where such lax doctrines as Arianism 
and Socinianism were rife, had sent ambassadors to treat 
with the Emperor for an alliance against the Turks. 
Neuser, Sylvanus and Vehe became intimate with these 
ambassadors. They sent letters to the ambassadors, 
asking for positions in Transylvania. Sylvanus wrote 
to the physician Blandrata, the leader of Socinianism 
(who was the superintendent of the Reformed Church of 
Transylvania), asking for a position there. Neuser also 
wrote a letter to the Sultan, in which he gives up the 
doctrine of the trinity and goes over to the monotheism 
of Islamism. In their letters they described themselves 
as belonging to a wide-spread party in Germany, who 
had given up the doctrine of the trinity. An unfore- 
seen event led to the discovery of their correspondence 
and their heresy. It happened that, when these Tran- 
sylvanian ambassadors urged the Emperor to enter into 
a political alliance with them against the Turks, he re- 
fused to do so. He said he could not enter into any 
alliance with any nation that did not believe in the di- 
vinity of Christ, and in the doctrine of the trinity. The 
Transylvanian ambassadors then replied that the Em- 
peror had a wide-spread party in his own realm, who 
did not believe those doctrines. The Emperor at once 
denied it. In proof of it they then offered the letters 



224 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

they had received from Neuser and Sylvanus, and called 
his attention to the statements in them, that there was a 
large party of Unitarians in Germany. The Emperor 
was surprised at this discovery, and sent the letters to 
the Elector of the Palatinate. The Elector at once ar- 
rested Neuser, Sylvanus, Suter and Vehe. But Neuser 
managed to escape from his arrest and to flee to Turkey ; 
where he became a Turkish Pasha, went over to Mo- 
hammedanism, and died a most awful death, like Herod 
the king, after a life of shameful wickedness. Fred- 
erick saw the danger and power of the heresy. He de- 
termined that something must be done to stop it, and to 
redeem his land from the disgrace it had suffered before 
the eyes of the world. For a long time he faltered be- 
fore taking extreme measures. There was a division of 
opinion. The civil judges of Heidelberg said Sylvanus 
ought to be punished, but not with death. The min- 
isters declared that Sylvanus ought to suffer death. As 
the offence was a religious one as well as civil one, 
Frederick did not know what to do. He sent to other 
lands for advice. The Lutheran professors of Witten- 
berg and the Reformed theologians of Switzerland said 
the same thing — that Sylvanus ought to be put to death. 
This was the temper of the age — death for heresy. So 
Sylvanus was finally beheaded in the market place of 
Heidelberg, close to the church of the Holy Ghost, on 
December 23, 1572. Vehe and Suter were deposed and 
banished. 



EXECUTION OF SYLVANUS. 



225 



Frederick and his councillors have been severely 
criticised for this beheading of Sylvanus. In the light 
of our age, it was cruel. But we must remember that 
the sixteenth century was not the nineteenth. We must 
judge him by the temper of his age. It was the spirit 
of that age to punish heresy thus. Catholics, Episcopa- 
lians and Lutherans did it. Frederick was only fol- 
lowing the example of Calvin in doing it, and thus 
making Heidelberg a second Geneva. We must remem- 
ber, too, that Frederick was urged to extreme measures 
by the mockery of the ultra Lutherans about the matter. 
Those Lutherans rejoiced at the heresy in the Palatinate. 
Had they not said that the Zwinglians were Arian devils 
and Mohammedans ? Now it was proven, as Sylvanus 
went over to Arianism, and Neuser to Mohammedanism. 
Osiander said that "as Neuser went to hell, he would 
find the first step of it to be Calvinism." Frederick felt 
he was humiliated in the eyes of the world. He wanted 
to redeem his reputation ; and was willing to take ex- 
treme measures to prove his orthodoxy and disprove the 
mocking charges of the high Lutherans. It is also to 
be remembered that the offense of Sylvanus was not 
merely a religious one, but also a civil one. Two 
preachers had desired to join the Turkish Sultan. Such 
an act was treason, and was offense enough in that age 
to be punished with death. The Turks were the most 
feared of enemies. With Jesuits at home and Turks 



226 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

abroad, as danger thus pressed on them near and far, it 
is no wondea that such dangers were exaggerated and 
such sad scenes as the beheading of Sylvanus took place. 

In 1568 Ursinus retired from the professorship of 
the University to take charge of the Sapienz College, 
and Zanchius took his professor's chair in the Univer- 
sity. But, with his feeble health, the care of the Sapienz 
College was too much for him. He calls it "his tread- 
mill." In 1570 his friend and patron, Crato, was pres- 
ent at the Diet at Spire, but Ursinus' duties were so 
great that he could not get away to see him. Finally, 
wearied with his work, he was about resigning and 
accepting a call that came to him from Berne. The 
Elector requested him to stay, and he stayed. He wrote, 
he expected to die in his tread-mill. His labors pro- 
duced sleeplessness and hypochondria. So an assistant 
was given him. An important event in Frederick's 
reign was the publication of a Latin translation of the 
Bible by Tremellius and Junius in 1574. The Elector 
also showed his sympathy with foreign Reformed 
Churches in various ways. He sent troops to help the 
persecuted Reformed in France. In 1572 he was great- 
ly grieved by the news of the massacre of St. Bartholo- 
mew. He also aided the Hollanders by sending troops 
to their help. Count Egmond, who had been put to 
death by the Spaniards at Brussels, was a brother to his 
second wife, the Princess of Nuenar. His youngest son, 



THE UPPER PALATINATE. 



227 



Christopher, the darling of his people, went into Dutch, 
military service and was killed at the battle of the Mock- 
erhaide. 

We must not forget to notice Frederick's zeal for his 
own land, as well as for other Reformed lands. He 
tried to introduce the Reformed faith into all parts of 
his realm. The Upper Palatinate was strongly Luth- 
eran. Frederick made several attempts to introduce the 
Reformed faith into it. He first attempted it in 1563. 
But his oldest son, Lewis, who was the governor of the 
Upper Palatinate, was an intense Lutheran ; and he sup- 
ported the people against his father, much to his father's 
sorrow. Frederick went to Amberg in 1566, taking 
with him Olevianus, whom he had heard dispute with 
such power at Maulbron. Frederick urged that polem- 
ics be stopped, that the high Lutheran rites be put 
away, and Reformed worship established, and a Re- 
formed school opened at Amberg. But it was all in vain. 
He tried it a second time, after the rise of Arianism in 
the Palatinate, the Lutheran superintendent of the Upper 
Palatinate having been deposed for Arianism. Fred- 
erick took advantage of this to try and introduce the 
Reformed faith there. He sent to Amberg a new com- 
mission, among whom were Count Lewis of Witt- 
genstein and Tossanus. But they could do nothing. 
For the people locked the church at Amberg against 
them and surrounded it with an armed guard. The 
Elector was very much inclined to remove his son Lewis 



228 



THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



from his position as governor of the Upper Palatinate, 
because he so much opposed his father's wishes. Fred- 
erick finally proposed to go himself and introduce the 
Reformed faith there. But his death prevented him 
from carrying out bis purpose. The Upper Palatinate 
remained Lutheran, and the Lower Palatinate remained 
Reformed. The Upper Palatinate passed into the 
hands of Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War. The 
Duke of Bavaria called in the Jesuits to re-convert it to 
Romanism. Lutheranism soon passed away and Ca- 
tholicism came in. High ritualistic customs, like cru- 
cifixes, exorcism, Latin singing, <fcc., are a poor bul- 
wark against Catholicism. Half-Catholic themselves, 
these were an easy bridge by which men could return to 
the bosom of the Romish Church. The result was, that 
what was once the Upper Palatinate, is now inhabited 
by the most bitter of Catholics. 

But Elector Frederick's end was rapidly approach- 
ing. His continued devotion to God is shown by the 
fact that some months before he died, when his son 
Casimir came back from the French war, the first place 
he took him to, was the castle chapel, to return thanks 
to God, sa)ing: " Is any happy, let him sing psalms."* 

*This chapel is now the bandhaus of the castle, just west of 
the present chapel of Frederick IV. The old chapel ran east 
and west, and not north and south, like the present bandhaus. 
A side chapel to this old chapel was added, and was built over 
where the great tun is now located. The front of the old chapel 
was torn out and a new one erected. 



DEATH OF FREDEKICK. 



229 



The last days of Frederick were embittered by the con- 
duct of his oldest son Lewis, who refused to come and 
see him before he died. Lewis probably feared to come 
to his father's bedside, lest he might be required to 
promise that he would not expel the Reformed from 
the Palatinate after his father's death. Frederick felt 
this danger to his beloved Reformed Church, if he died. 
And so, like Jacob of old, with forebodings, and yet 
with a prophetic vision, he said about his two year old 
grand-son (named after him) : " Lewis will not do it, 
Fritz will do it." These words were afterward fulfilled, 
as his son Lewis drove the Reformed out of the Palat- 
inate; but his grand-son Frederick re-introduced the 
Reformed faith again. Before he died, Frederick III. 
said: "I have done the best I could for the Church, 
but have not been able to accomplish much. God the 
Almighty will not suffer it to be left an orphan. My 
tears and prayers which have ascended to God for my 
successors and the Church, will not remain without 
fruit." When the news of the Emperor Maximilian's 
death, fourteen days before his own death, came to 
Frederick, he said : " Lord, now lettest thou thy serv- 
ant depart in peace. If I could only speak to the new 
Emperor, and see my son Lewis before my end, and 
talk with him about the Christian republic." On the 
26th of October his disease, dropsy, completed its work, 
and he fell asleep in Jesus. His court-preacher Tos- 



230 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



sanus read to him the 31st Psalm and 17th chapter of 
John. He then prayed aloud, and filled with joy and 
peace, he breathed out his soul to God. 

Frederick was one of the greatest princes the Palat- 
inate ever had. Indeed, he was one of the noblest and 
purest princes of Germany. He well deserved the name 
of ' pious/ He had great executive ability, was very 
economical in his court expenses, saving from them 
twenty thousand dollars a year that he might spend it 
for schools and churches. He erected no fine architec- 
tural buildings, except that he completed the Otto Hen- 
ry's building at the castle, which had been left uncom- 
pleted by Otto Henry's untimely death. As he built 
no forts, he was taken to task about it. He answered : 
" A mighty fortress is our God." During his reign of 
seventeen years he had no wars of his own. His land 
flourished, for he was a just aud wise ruler, and kind to 
his subjects. But over and above all his graces, his 
piety shone. He was one of the most pious princes of 
that age of pious princes. He was to the Palatinate 
what Frederick the Wise had been to Saxony, and 
Kings Alfred and Edward VI. were to England. His 
Church was his great love. The Reformed Church will 
ever cherish his memory. He left a will, in which was 
found his confession of faith, which was afterwards 
appended by publishers to the Confession of the Palat- 
inate. Before the gate of the town of Simmern, where 



MEMORIALS TO HIS MEMORY. 



231 



he introduced Protestantism before he became Elector 
of the Palatinate, there has long existed, as a monument 
to his memory, a beautiful orphans' asylum. But his 
name will ever be embalmed in his Heidelberg cate- 
chism, and loved and honored by those who love and 
bpnor it. 



CHAPTER III. 



The Origin of the Reformed Church in West- 
ern Germany. 

SECTION I. 

Elector Lewis and his Persecution of the Reformed in the 
Palatinate, 1576—83. 

After the death of Elector Frederick III., his son, 
Elector Lewis, re-introduced Lutheranism into the Pa- 
latinate. Lewis was as strong a Lutheran as his father 
had been a Calvinist. He inherited much of the relig- 
ious disposition that had characterized his father, only 
it was turned into a different direction. His early train- 
ing had been Lutheran ; for his father did not go over 
to the Reformed faith, until after Lewis had grown to 
manhood. Trained up in Lutheran courts, he became 
an intense Lutheran. And circumstances favored his 
growth in Lutheranism. After his father had become 
Elector of the Palatinate, he was made governor of the 
Upper Palatinate at Amberg. There he found the 
people intensely Lutheran, and he came into fullest 
sympathy with them. His wife, a daughter of the 



FIRST EFFORTS OF LEWIS. 233 

Landgrave of Hesse, was a strong Lutheran. Thus he 
was surrounded on all sides by Lutheran influences. 
He entered on his office as Elector with the intention of 
purging the Palatinate of its Calvinism. He would 
convert the Palatinate back to Lutheranism again. He 
found, however, this difference ; that when Frederick 
went over to the Reformed faith, the great mass of the 
people in the Lower Palatinate sympathized and went 
with him. But when Lewis undertook to re-convert it, 
he found the great mass of the people satisfied with their 
Calvinism and reluctant to go back to Lutheranism. 
Lewis did not wait long before he began to show his 
Lutheran zeal. While his father was lying on his 
death-bed, Lewis would not come to see him. His 
religious fanaticism overcame his filial love. He was 
afraid to come, for fear his father would make him 
promise to leave the Reformed religion, undisturbed. 
But, fourteen days after his father's death, he came to 
Heidelberg. His first act was to refuse to allow any 
Reformed minister to conduct his father's funeral. Al- 
though the court-preachers of Heidelberg knew his 
father so well, and were best fitted to speak of his fath- 
er's virtues ; yet Lewis would not permit it. He said 
he did not want his father's funeral to be polluted by 
a Calvinist. Lewis also seemed to have had some per- 
sonal feeling against the court-preachers of his father, 
Oievianus and Tossanus ; for both of them had taken 
16 



234 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



part in trying to convert the Upper Palatinate, where 
he had lived, to the Reformed faith. Lewis sympathized 
with the Lutherans there ; and to revenge himself on 
these ministers, he would not allow them to speak at 
his father's funeral. He ordered Paul Schecksius, his 
own Lutheran court-preacher, whom he brought with 
him from Amberg, to pieach the funeral sermon. Tos- 
sanus, however, at the request of the Electress, preached 
a funeral discourse on Isaiah 51 : 1, 2, on the day after 
the funeral, in the Holy Ghost church. This special 
service was attended by the court, but Lewis was not 
there, because he would not officially sanction the Re- 
formed faith or listen to a Reformed preacher. This 
act caused a breach in the Electoral family. If Lewis 
would not go to a Reformed service, then Casimir de- 
termined he would not attend a Lutheran service. This 
act of Lewis was only the precursor of other high-handed 
proceedings against the Reformed. The consistory, 
then composed of Reformed, was forbidden to till any 
vacancies, lest they might import any Reformed preach- 
ers into the land. Booksellers were forbidden to print 
or sell Reformed books. Lewis was especially severe 
in his wrath against Olevianus ; because Olevianus had 
done so much toward converting his father to Calvin- 
ism, and because Olevianus had tried to convert the 
Upper Palatinate from Lutheranism. Olevianus was 
put out of the consistory, forbidden to preach, placed 



REIjSTTRODUCTION OF LUTHER A NISM 



235 



under house-arrest, and forbidden to hold meetings in 
his house, or to talk with the people or correspond with 
the learned. Thus Lewis treated the man who had 
been his father's favorite. Lewis did not treat Olevi- 
anus very much better than did the Elector of Treves, a 
Catholic, who had imprisoned him at Treves for the 
same cause (because he was a Calvinist). Two months 
after he had arrived at Heidelberg, Lewis left Heidel- 
berg to go to Amberg, that he might receive the Elec- 
toral hat. When he arrived at Amberg, he summarily 
dismissed the Reformed ministers stationed there by his 
father, and re-introduced all the old usages of high Lu- 
theranism. Pictures were brought back into the 
churches. The altars, which Frederick had torn out of 
the church, were re-instated. Wafers were re-introduced. 
The Reformed people at Heidelberg felt that a change 
was coming. So they tried to avert its severity, by 
sending a petition to Lewis at Amberg, asking that the 
people of Heidelberg be given freedom to worship ac- 
cording to the Reformed faith ; and offering to give to 
the Lutherans the church of the Holy Ghost, the largest 
church at Heidelberg, if the Reformed would be allowed 
to retain the St. Peter's and Franciscan churches. 
Prince Casimir, w r hom Lewis had left as his representa- 
tive at Heidelberg during his absence, endorsed this pe- 
tition. But the Elector returned it with a rebuke, and 
refused it. While the Elector was absent, Casimir had 



236 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Eeformcd church-service in the castle chapel, under Tos- 
sanus ; for which Tossanus was afterward rebuked by 
Lewis. At the March communion the Reformed min- 
isters urged the people to come to the communion, as it 
might be the last time the Lord's supper would be ad- 
ministered after the Reformed custom. Their expecta- 
tions came true. For on the fourth of April the Elec- 
tor came back to Heidelberg ; and then began a whole- 
sale re-introduction of Lutheranism. One of his first ef- 
forts was to dispossess the Reformed, of the Holy Ghost 
and St. Peter's churches. The only church left to the 
Reformed was the Franciscan church, which was far too 
small ; and it was soon taken away. The Reformed min- 
isters were dismissed. Tossanus had to leave the city. 
On the twenty-first of April, Lewis and his court atten- 
ded service at St. Peter's church, where the court-preacher 
formally announced the introduction of the true faith — 
Lutheranism On the same day the Reformed members 
of the court, Count Lewis of Wittgenstein, and also 
Ehem, were dismissed. Count Lewis of Wittgenstein 
became very severe against Lewis. He compared him 
to Julian the Apostate, and prophesied his early fate. 
Count Lewis left Heidelberg, but afterward requested 
that Olevianus might go with him to Berleberg, which 
was granted. The Franciscan church was taken from 
the Reformed, and the French Reformed congregation 
were put out of the aula 'of the university where they 



REINTRODUCTION OF LUTHERANISM. 237 



had worshipped. The Electress and Prince Casimir 
were so aggrieved by Lewis' persecution, that they left 
the palace. All the old rites of Lutheranism, which 
Frederick had so strongly opposed, were now re-intro- 
duced, after eighteen years of banishment. The priests 
sang the liturgies at the altar. The wafer took the place 
of broken bread ; the altar was adorned with candles, and 
many pictures were introduced in the niches and on the 
walls. Lewis also filled the consistory with Lutherans. 
Paul Schecksius, Kirchner and Schopper were the cler- 
ical members of it. The Lutheran office of superinten- 
dent, which his father had abolished after his experience 
with Hesshuss, was re-established. And Peter Patiens 
was appointed to that place at the head of the consistory. 
Marbach was called from Strasburg in 1577 to help 
Lutheranize the Palatinate. A new Lutheran church 
order, based on Otto Henry's, was now published. The 
Reformed ministers were everywhere dismissed, and Lu- 
therans put in their places. It is safe to say that six 
hundred ministers lost their positions, and many of them 
were brought to want by their summary dismissal. 
Funds were raised for their help in Switzerland, but the 
funds were small, compared with their need. The Re- 
formed teachers were in some places driven out, with 
their families, into the street, and chased as criminals. 
And as Lutheran ministers could not be gotten fast 
enough to fill the vacancies, the Elector preferred leav- 



238 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

ing their places vacant, rather than have the Reformed 
preachers preach their heresy any longer. Under his 
severe Lutheranism, the schools in the Palatinate began 
to decline. But the university was spared a little longer. 
Finally Boquin, Zanchius and Trernellius, the theolog- 
ical professors, were ordered to leave town. The whole 
university then, in spite of theological differences, ap- 
pealed to the Elector for these professors, reminding him 
that they had done nothing contrary to the Augsburg 
Confession. But all their appeals were in vain. Bo- 
quin and Zanchius became so, poor, that money had to be 
raised to send them away. Such was Boquin's reward, 
after eighteen years of faithful service at Heidelberg. 
Ursinus, after the closing of the Sapienz College, re- 
ceived his dismissal. The people of the Rhenish Palat- 
inate, however, in spite of the loss of these leaders, re- 
mained true to their faith. 

Prince Casimir, disgusted with his brother's bigotry, 
left Heidelberg and retired to the estates left him by 
his father at Bockenheim, Kaiserlautern and Neustadt. 
This little land became an asylum for the persecuted 
Reformed of the Palatinate. The Electress left Hei- 
delberg soon after, because Lewis would not allow her 
to retain her Reformed court-preacher. The little town 
of Neustadt became to the Reformed, what Am berg had 
been to the Lutherans of the Palatinate under Freder- 
ick. The prominent Reformed teachers of Heidelberg 



RISE OF NEUSTADT. 



239 



came to Neustadt, after their dismissal from the Palat- 
inate. Ursinus, when dismissed, thought of going to 
Worms to his friend Eccolius. But the hatred of the 
Lutherans at Worms deterred him. He expected a call 
from Berne. His native town of Breslau gave him a 
call. Bat his mild, sensative nature led him to refuse 
to get into any further controversies in his native city. 
So, when Casimir urged him to come to Neustadt, he 
finally went there. Olevianus had already gone to 
Berleberg to Count Lewis of Wittgenstein. (Since the 
Erastian controversy at Heidelberg, Casimir, who dif- 
fered with Olevianus about discipline, was not so favor- 
able to him as he was to Ursinus.) 

Prince Casimir then determined to found a school 
at Neustadt, which should be a nursery for the Re- 
formed faith, and a bulwark against the Lutherans of 
Heidelberg. At a synod, held at Neustadt, March, 
1578, the Reformed ministers endorsed the plan of a 
school, with great joy. There had been a nunnery be- 
fore the gate of Neustadt, called the White Hermitage. 
This building Casimir took for a school, which was 
called after him, the Casimirium.* Ursinus, Zanchius 
and Tossanus were made the theological teachers. The 
Casimirium, by the second year, became so prosperous, 
that it not only rivaled, but eclipsed Heidelberg univer- 

*The building is still standing at Neustadt, and is now used 
as a school. 



240 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



sity. For the most renowned professors at Heidelberg 
had come to Neustadt. What was loss to Heidelberg, 
was gain to Neustadt. Ursinus lectured on Isaiah, and 
wrote his notes on the catechism. The little town of 
Neustadt became a centre of influence and place of 
honor throughout all Europe. Students from England, 
France and Poland came to it to study ; while English 
embassadors, and French and Polish agents, alike came 
to concert diplomatic measures about Calvinism. 

Meanwhile a very important event was taking place 
in Germany, which prepared that country for a fuller 
reception of the Reformed faith. It was the composi- 
tion and adoption of the Formula of Concord. Although 
the Formula of Concord does not really belong to Re- 
formed church history j yet it had such an influence in 
preparing large parts of Germany for the Reformed 
faith, that a brief description of it is necessary. 

The Lutherans had by this time become tired of 
their strifes, and desired a union. Andrea, the Chan- 
cellor of Tubingen and leader of the Wurtemberg Lu- 
theran Church, was the leader of this movement. High 
Lutheranism had by this time pretty well routed out 
low Lutheranism and Melancthonianism. After Me- 
lancthon's death, no great theological leader appeared 
in their party. Many of the princes were still Melanc- 
thonians, but the theologians were high Lutheran and 
had gone over to the doctrine of ubiquity. The time 



FORMULA OF CONCORD. 



241 



was ripe for a new Lutheran confession. The Crypto- 
Calvinists had been driven out of Saxony ; and South 
Germany in Wurtemberg now joined hand in hand with 
North Germany in Saxony, in the interest of high Lu- 
theranism. A preliminary confession was prepared in 
1576, called the Torgau book, which was sent around 
among the princes and theologians for suggestions. It 
was found that even among the high Lutherans there 
was a difference on the doctrine of ubiquity. Andrea 
held to absolute ubiquity or omnipresence of Christ's 
body ; Chemnitz, a more moderate Lutheran and a pru- 
dent admirer of Melancthon, believed in a relative ubi- 
quity or multipresence of Christ's body.* The leading 
Lutheran theologians of Germany came together at the 
monastery of Bergen near Magdeburg, and then pre- 
pared the new Lutheran creed, called the Formula of 
Concord, on the 28th of May, 1577. It was the highest 
of the Lutheran symbols, and everywhere opposed the 
Melancthonian doctrines. It opposed synergism by 
saying, that, since the fall of man, not a spec of spiritual 
power remained in man. He was as helpless as a stone. 
And yet, on this point it escaped Calvinism, by saying 
that, while man has no power to save himself, he yet 
has power to refuse salvation. On predestination it 
escaped Calvinism, by saying that salvation is the object 

*" The expression 'ubiquity' is not used in any Lutheran 
church symbol." — Herzog. 



242 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



of divine predestination, but damnation is the result of 
divine foreknowledge. It rejected Calvin's doctrine of 
the Lord's supper, as well as his predestination. And 
it added, to the old Lutheran doctrine of the real bodily 
presence of Christ at the supper, the additional doctrine 
of Christ's ubiquity. It also condemned Calvinism by 
name, in this respect going farther than the Augsburg 
Confession. " The Formula of Concord was more doc- 
trinal than popular, more scholastic than fervid. It 
was the ripe dogmatic product of Lutheranism, as the 
Westminster Confession was of high Calvinism." It, 
however, lacked the popularity of Luther's catechism 
and of the Augsburg Confession ; and one misses in it 
the unction and devotion found in the Heidelberg cate- 
chism. 

An organized effort was then made to introduce the 
Formula of Concord into all the states of Germany. 
The Elector of Saxony, who was the god-father of it, 
sent a commission through all Saxony ; and in all the 
cities the preachers and teachers were gathered, the For- 
mula of Concord was read before them, and they were 
asked to adopt it. Deputations were sent through all 
the lands of Germany to the princely families, urging 
the adoption of the Formula of Concord. This effort 
went on ; until by 1580, three Electors, twenty-one 
Dukes, twenty-two Counts, thirty-five free cities, in all 
eighty -six states of the Empire, had adopted it. Nine 



OPPOSITION TO THE FORMULA. 



243 



thousand preachers and teachers and twelve thousand 
churches had adopted it. It was introduced into Sax- 
ony, Brandenberg, Luneburg, Mecklenberg, Wurtem- 
berg, Baden, Hamburg and Lubeck. Its success at 
first was so great that a general synod of all Germany 
was talked of, to adopt it and to make it the creed of 
all Germany. But it soon became evident that that 
would not be wise. For a reaction set in against it. 
The Formula of Concord became, as Hospinian calls it, 
( an apple of discord/ While most of the princes signed 
it, quite a number refused to sign it. Some good Luth- 
eran princes refused to have anything to do with it, as 
they clung to the old Lutheranism of the Augsburg 
Confession. Count Richard of Simmeru in the Palat- 
inate, a strict Lutheran, refused to have anything to do 
with it. The sister of the King of Denmark, the Elec- 
tress of Saxony, sent to the King of Denmark two beau- 
tifully bound copies of the Formula of Concord, and 
asked him to examine it and adopt it. Frederick, the 
king, in a restless night which he spent at the castle at 
Antworskon, took both books and threw them into the 
chamber fire, so that no specimen of this destructive 
book should be found in his dominion.* In Holstein, 
the Formula of Concord was forbidden, under pain of 
death. The states of Hesse, Anhalt, Nassau, Pomera- 

*The King of Denmark, although he was a foreign king, yet 
had a share in the German politics, as he was the Duke of 
Schleswig Holstein. 



244 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

nia, Saxe-Luneberg, Zweibriicken, and the free cities of 
Bremen, Nuremberg and Strasburg, repudiated it. But, 
while they rejected it for being too high Lutheran, 
Hamburg and Lubeck declared it was not high Luth- 
eran enough for them. Even the Duke of Brunswick, 
the friend of Chemnitz, one of its authors, finally refused 
to sign it. Andrea went from court to court to have it 
signed. Some of the princes refused point blank to 
sign it. Others objected to the clause in it that con- 
demned the Calvinists. The Formula of Concord made 
the last great break in the unity of Germany. 

And now at length Calvinism prepared its reply to 
Lutheranism. Prince Casimir of the Palatinate, from 
his little town of Neustadt, began this movement. He 
aimed at nothing less than a union of all the Reformed 
states^of Europe, including France, England, Holland, 
&c, against this excommunication, which the Formula 
of Concord gave to all Calvinists. Fortunately the 
Queen of England seconded his designs. She had, at 
the conference at Naumberg in 1561, greeted the Ger- 
mans as 1 brethren in the faith/ She had already sent 
her ambassador, Sir Phillip Sydney, to Germany, to 
suggest the union of all Protestant nations. He visited 
Elector Lewis of the Palatinate, Landgrave Phillip of 
Hesse, and Prince Casimir. The queen saw the danger 
of disunion, caused by the Formula of Concord. She 
was very much aggrieved by the Formula of Concord, 



CONFERENCE AT FRANKFORD. 



245 



because of that clause in it, that condemned all Calvin- 
ists. Proud queen that she was, she was not accus- 
tomed to being condemned. And she seemed to con- 
sider that clause as referring especially to herself. Casi.- 
mir entered heartily into the plans of Queen Elizabeth 
of England. During the summer of 1577 his agents 
went through all the Reformed countries to work up 
this union of the Reformed lands against the Formula of 
Concord. A convention of the Reformed was appointed 
at Frankford. This convention, the like of which had 
never before assembled, met September 27, 1577. It 
was the first meeting of the Reformed alliance, which 
was afterward consummated in the nineteenth century ; 
or rather, it was an Evangelical alliance, formed, how- 
ever, only of Reformed denominations. From the 
French Reformed Church appeared Lewis Capellus and 
Jacob Coetius. The Queen of England was represented 
by Daniel Roger and Hubert Languet ; the King of 
Navarre, by Francis De La Person ne ; the Prince of 
Conde, by Vicomte d'Argentine. From Poland and 
Hungary appeared Thuetius and Pratorius ; from Hol- 
land, John Junius ; from the Palatinate, Zanchius. The 
Bohemian and Swiss Churches were not represented by 
delegates ; but they sent letters, stating that they would 
be satisfied with whatever the conference would decide 
upon. Zuleger, the councillor of Casimir, opened the 
conference and announced its objects, which were three 



246 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

— first, how the new doctrine of ubiquity could be 
checked ; second, if it were best to draw up a new con- 
fession, on which the Reformed Churches could unite ; 
third, if such were found necessary, how it was to be 
done, how spread abroad among the Churches, and how 
signed by them. The conference decided that a com- 
mon confession of faith to offset the Formula of Con- 
cord was desirable. Ursinus and Zanchius were ap- 
pointed to draw up such a creed. This was to be done 
in conjunction with a theologian appointed by the 
Queen of England. The first draft of it was to be 
sent to Gualthier at Zurich, and Beza at Geneva. Prince 
Casimir agreed to attend to the printing of not more 
than one hundred copies, which were to be sent to the 
different Reformed Churches. 

The deputies were to call a second conference in the 
summer of 1578, to revise this confession and to declare 
it the common creed of the Church. Ursinus, old, 
timid and sick, however declined to attempt writing 
such a confession. Zanchius attemped it alone, after 
having gained the consent of the Swiss to this course. 
His work was received with approbation at Geneva. 
But in the meantime the sentiment in regard to a new 
confession changed. A desire grew up in the Reformed 
Churches to have a harmony of all- the existing Reform- 
ed confessions, rather than to have a new confession pre- 
pared. Salnar prepared this harmony of the confessions 



CONFERENCE AT FRANKFORD. 



247 



in 1581. This harmony contains the first and second 
Helvetic Confessions, the Basle, Bohemian, Gallic, An- 
glican, Belgic, Augsburg, Saxon, Wurtemburg and 
Suevian. The second Helvetic is given the first place, 
because it was the most generally received of all the 
Reformed confessions at that time. This was the first 
union document or consensus of the Reformed faith that 
was published. So the times outgrew Zanchius' con- 
fession, and it was not adopted. The Swiss, too, saw 
no reason why the second Helvetic Confession, already 
acknowledged by most of the Reformed Churches, should 
not be the confession on which they might all unite. 
Zanchius then made the confession he prepared, his 
own and his family's in 1586 ; that he might leave be- 
hind him a picture of his faith. He dedicated it to 
Count Ulric of Martinengo of Venice. 

This conference at Frankford also took action on its 
other object, namely, the hindering of the spread of the 
Formula of Concord. It appointed a deputation to go 
from court to court in Germany and show to the Luth- 
eran princes the dangers of division between the Re- 
formed and the Lutherans, caused by the damnatory 
clause in the Formula of Concord. This embassy was 
headed by Belus and the eminent Dutch lawyer, Knib- 
bius. The conference also ordered Hubert Languet, 
who had been for many years employed among the 
statesmen of Germany, and who knew the situation in 



248 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Germany, to draw up a letter of admonition to be pre- 
sented by this delegation to the German princes. He 
wrote an exceedingly able and judicious document. In 
it all harsh words are avoided, the differences between 
the Reformed and the Lutherans thrown in the back- 
ground and the advantages of unity dwelt upon. The 
paper reminded the Lutherans, of Papal and Jesuit in- 
trigues in France, Spain and Holland, and of the danger 
that would come from division between the Reformed 
and Lutherans ; and also, that the safety of Germany 
lay in unity. This embassy travelled from court to 
court in Germany, presenting its case to the princes. 
But the Lutheran party-spirit was blind. Evasive an- 
swers were given the delegation. There was, as Hos- 
pinian says, "nothing given it but beautiful phrases and 
rich banquets." And yet this embassy was not without 
its effect. Denmark, then the ruler of Holstein, was 
stirred up by the Queen of England against the Formu- 
la of Concord. Hesse and Anhalt more decidedly than 
ever refused to sign it. 

This embassy very decidedly affected Elector Lewis 
ol the Palatinate. Before it came, he had been an in- 
tense Lutheran ; but now he became moderate. Lewis 
halted for a long time before signing the Formula of 
Concord. The Landgrave of Hesse urged him not to 
sign it, while the Electors of Saxony and Brandenberg 
urged him to sign it. He was opposed to the clause in 



LEWIS AND THE FORMULA. 



249 



it that condemned the Calvinists. At length, after it 
had been slightly revised, he signed it, but he found the 
revision so slight, that he never entered heartily into its 
introduction into his land. The people of the Palatinate 
were bitterly opposed to it. Lewis, after urging the 
professors at Heidelberg to sign it, finding they would 
not do it, allowed them to retain their places ; provided 
they would outwardly be Lutheran, occasionally attend 
Lutheran church and allow their children to be brought 
up in the Lutheran faith. But he could not stop the 
reaction against the Formula of Concord in his land. 
Prominent men, like Fauth, vice chancellor, went over 
to Calvinism. The high Lutherans urged him to have 
a house to house visitation, so as to get all to assent to 
the Formula of Concord. But Lewis refused such an 
inquisition. He refused to be led by his ministers to such 
extreme measures. He became more lenient toward the 
Reformed as time advanced. His wife died, and in her 
he lost his strongest Lutheran support. Later he final- 
ly told the Margrave of Baden, that if he had not signed 
the Formula of Concord, he would not do so now. 

This Formula of Concord had a most disastrous 
effect on Germany. Its intense, bigoted, high Lutheran- 
ism split Germany into two parts. Its evil results 
showed themselves down to the end of the Thirty 
Years' War in 1648. The immediate effect of it was dis- 
astrous. Elector Gebhard Truchsess of Cologne had 
17 



250 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

changed his faith and become Protestant. He hoped to 
carry the Electorate of Cologne with him. He might 
have been able to do so, had he been supported by the 
German princes. But the Formula of Concord made 
the Lutheran princes either lukewarm or opposed to 
him, because he inclined to the Reformed faith. The 
Elector of Saxony refused to send any troops to his 
assistance. The result was that a large part of the 
Rhine region was lost to Protestantism ; for the Catho- 
lics came in with their troops and overcame this weak 
effort of Gebhard. And the fourth Electorate of Ger- 
many, which would have given the Protestants a major- 
ity in the Electoral college, was lost to Protestantism. 
It is a wonder that the German princes, having seen 
their mistake forty years before, when they allowed 
Elector Herman of Cologne to be defeated, should re- 
peat that mistake in the case of his successor, Gebhard. 
And this was only the beginning of the weakness of 
Protestantism, due to the division between the Reformed 
and Lutherans, caused largely by the Formula of Con- 
cord. 

The last event of importance to us that occurred dur- 
ing the life of Lewis, was the death of Ursinus at Neu- 
stadt. Ursinus lived quietly at Neustadt as an unwear- 
ied student. Over the door of his room was the motto : 
" Friend, whoever you may be, when you come to me, 
make the matter short, or leave soon, or assist me at 



DEATH OF URSINUS. 



251 



my work." His health gradually failed. His old disease 
of melancholy returned to him. He died March 6, 
1583, trusting in God. The first answer of his Heidel- 
berg Catechism is the key to his peaceful, religious ex- 
perience. Christ was his comfort in life and death. 
He would not take a hundred thousand worlds for the 
assurance of faith, that was his. He was buried in the 
choir of the church at Neustadt. The tomb bore the 
inscription, " A great theologian, a victor over the errors 
concerning the person of Christ and the Lord's supper, 
gifted with mighty words and a mighty pen, a keen- 
sighted philosopher, a wise man, a mighty teacher of 
the youth." He was a modern Thomas k Kempis, a 
man of books and prayer with God. He left but one 
son ; but there were to him many spiritual sons, who 
followed him as the leaders of the Reformed Church in 
the succeeding generation. His theological tendency is 
shown in his scholars, some of whom became the leaders 
of the high Calvinistic party, as Gomarus and Lybrand. 
His works were' afterward published by Pareus, printed 
by Harnish, in three folio volumes. But his spirit is 
immortal ; for he still lives in the Heidelberg Catechism, 
and in the hearts of those to whom the Heidelberg Cat- 
echism is dear. 

The Elector Lewis died not long after Ursinus. On 
the 12th of October, 1583, after a reign of seven years, 
Lewis passed away, and with him passed away the rule 



252 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

of Lutheranism in the Palatinate. He left behind him 
a son, Frederick, (afterward Frederick IV. of the Pa- 
latinate,) then only nine years old. Lewis' father had 
prophesied, " Lewis will not do it ; Fritz will do it." 
This was now about to come true. For this boy grew 
up to become the leader of the Calvinism in the Palati- 
nate, which his grandfather had introduced, and his 
father had persecuted. 



CHAPTER III.— SECTION II. 



The Introduction of the Reformed Faith into the Wetterau 
District, 

There was a district of Germany called the Wetterau 
Counties. It lay around Frankford, east of the Rhine, 
and as far north as Cologne. It was composed of a 
number of small counties, each ruled by an independent 
count. These Wetterau lands were Sayn, Wittgenstein, 
Nassau, Wied, Solms and Hanau.* Being so near to 
Hesse, they had always been influenced more by the 
mild Hessian type of Lutheranism than by the higher 
Lutheranism of Saxony. They were, therefore, the 
better prepared to go over to the Reformed faith. The 
bigotry of the high Lutherans, as well as the influence 
of the neighboring Reformed Palatinate, led them to go 
into the Reformed Church. 

Wittgenstein. 

Of these counties, the first one to be affected by the 
Reformed doctrines, was the most northern one, Witt- 
genstein. Its prince was Count Lewis VI. He seems 



*See map. 



254- THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

to have been at Orleans at the same time as Count 
Herman Lewis of the Palatinate, who was drowned be- 
fore Olevianus' eyes at Bourges. He there began his 
acquaintance with the Palatinate princes, which after- 
ward resulted in his becoming an official in that court. 
He studied at the university of Padua in Italy, with 
Count Phillip of Nassau. His first wife was a daugh- 
ter of the Count of Solms. His daughter married Count 
John of Nassau. We thus see how the intermarriage 
of these princes led them, one after the other, into the 
Reformed Church. As early as 1564, Count Lewis had 
heard of the Heidelberg Catechism, and was influenced 
by it to some extent ; for he wrote to Crell, a famous 
Hessian minister, about its ninety-seventh answer, 
which opposes pictures in the churches. He said he 
could see no harm in the use of pictures in churches. 
This correspondence was the first sign that he was in- 
quiring the way toward the Reformed faith. This was 
greatly strengthened by a visit that he paid to Switzer- 
land, in company with his brother-in-law of Solms. 
There he met Bullinger, who exerted a great influence 
on him, and especially influenced him toward putting 
away altars, pictures, &c, from his churches. His call 
to Heidelberg, to a court position in the Palatinate, 
completed his conversion. He became, in 1574, court- 
master of the Palatinate; and here, in the midst of Re- 
formed influences, he became thoroughly Reformed. 



OLEVIANUS IN BERLEBERG. 



255 



Here he met the prominent Reformed theologians of 
Germany, and in fact became a theologian himself. For 
he was not only a prince, but a rare combination of a 
prince and theologian, too. Elector Frederick III. very 
highly honored him, and sent him on important politi- 
cal and religious embassies. After the death of Elector 
Frederick III., and the accession of Elector Lewis to 
the throne of the Palatinate, he became very uncom- 
fortable at Heidelberg. When Lewis ordered the in- 
troduction of the Lutheran faith into the Palatinate, he 
was dismissed. He retired to his county seat, Berleberg. 
He was, however, very deeply attached to Olevianus, 
and very indignant at Olevianus' arrest by Lewis. He 
urged Olevianus, who had a call to Dort, to come to 
Berleberg and educate his sons. He showed Olevianus, 
how such a position would give him an opportunity to 
introduce the Reformed faith into those counties east of 
the Rhine — that although the Reformed Church was 
driven out of the Palatinate, it would rise up again in 
the Wetterau districts. So, although the salary was 
small and the position low, Olevianus refused the call 
to Dort and went to Berleberg. Olevianus at once com- 
pleted the conversion of Wittgenstein to the Reformed 
faith. In 1578 the custom of breaking bread at com- 
munion was introduced, and in 1582 the altars in the 
churches were changed into communion tables ; and the 
Heidelberg Catechism and the singing of psalms intro- 



256 THE REFOEMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

duced. Private confession and absolution, Latin sing- 
ing of the Scripture lessons, the bowing at the name of 
Jesus, the feasts of the saints, pictures, crosses, cruci- 
fixes, all were put away.* The great aim of Count 
Lewis was to form a General Synod of all the Wetterau 
districts, which he was permitted to see in 1586. 

Nassau. 

But the influence of Olevianus was not confined 
merely to the little county of Wittgenstein. These coun- 
ties were so intimately connected, that, what affected 
one, affected all. Nassau was the next land to receive 
the Reformed faith. Its ruler at that time was Count 
John, the elder, of Dillenberg. He was a brother of 
William, Prince of Orange, governor of the Netherlands, 
known in history as William the Silent. Prince Wil- 
liam had renounced all claim to his estates east of the 
Rhine, so that Nassau fell to Count John. Count John 
was a pious ruler, — had been educated at Wittenberg 
under Melancthon and at Strasburg under Sturm. 
Through intercourse with his brother in Holland, he had 
become friendly to the Reformed faith. As early as 
1572 he received Reformed refugees from Holland into 
his land at Siegen. And when his friend and neighbor, 
Count Lewis of Wittgenstein, became Reformed, he at 
once felt the influence of the Reformed faith. It was, 

*Goebel, I., 389. 



NASSAU BECOMES REFORMED. 



257 



however, the publication of the Formula of Concord, 
with its narrow Lutheranisrn and its denunciation of the 
Reformed, that led him into the Reformed Church. In 
his opposition to the Formula of Concord, he had only 
followed the neighboring Hessian Church, by which his 
land had always been influenced. The severe persecu- 
tions of the Crypto Calvinists by the Lutherans in Sax- 
ony capped the climax, and so disgusted him that he 
went over to the Reformed faith. But as early as 1568, 
he had called a Reformed preacher, Noviomagus, to 
Herborn. The coming of Noviomagus was bitterly op- 
posed by his Lutheran superintendent, Bernhart. But, 
in spite of the opposition of the superintendent, Novi- 
omagus entered on his duties and began several re- 
forms, as the putting away of exorcism at baptism. A 
peculiar juncture of affairs aided the introduction of the 
Reformed faith. It happened that Pezel, Widebram 
and Cruciger, driven out of Wittenberg for being Crypto- 
Calvinists, came to Herborn in 1577. And about 
the same time, fifteen Reformed preachers, driven out 
of the Palatinate by the persecution of Elector Lewis, 
came to Nassau. These two influences, the one from 
the east, the other from the west, came together just at 
the right time for Nassau, and brought it over to the 
Reformed faith. Count John proceeded cautiously in 
his reforms. His ministers gradually prepared the peo- 
ple for the change. In the summer of 1577 he assem- 



258 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

bled his ministers together, and they celebrated the 
Lord's supper with broken bread, instead of wafers. 
This act committed them to the Reformed faith. The 
communion cloth, held under the elements, was put 
away, because the superstitious people did not believe 
they received the body and blood of Christ, if such a 
cloth were not used. Each minister promised to try and 
introduce these reforms into his congregation as soon as 
possible. In 1578 a synod was held at Dillenberg, on 
the eighth of July, which fully completed the introduc- 
tion of the Reformed faith. This synod consisted of 22 
ministers, court-master Nymptsch aDd Otto von Grun- 
rade. Pezel was the leader in it and drew up a form- 
ula, which stated the differences between the Reformed 
and the Lutherans. It defined the position of the Re- 
formed Church, and ordered that all Lutheran customs 
be abolished, such as making the sign of the cross at 
baptism, exorcism, Latin singing, feast days, images, 
pictures, organs, candles, priest's gowns and altars. All 
these were forbidden (as the synod's decrees declare), 
"since the Christians in the New Testament have nei- 
ther altar nor offering, as in the law of Moses." The 
ministers were forbidden to turn their backs to the con- 
gregation at the Lord's supper, like the Lutherans and 
Catholics, as if acting as the intercessors for the people. 
Confirmation, which had been made a sacrament by the 
Catholics, was dispensed with. Children were received 



NASSAU BECOMES REFORMED. 259 

into the Church simply by the laying on of hands, with- 
out ihe blessing. The ministers were not to use the 
Scripture lessons. Nor were they compelled to take 
their texts from the gospel or epistle for the day, but 
texts were free.* In the next year, 1578, October 2, 
another synod was held to complete the work of the 
previous synod. The synod of 1581 ordered the intro- 
duction of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Palatinate 
church order into the churches and schools. The synod 
of 1582 completed the organization of the Church, and 
adopted the decrees of the Dutch synod of Middleburg 
of 1581, which introduced the full presbyterial church 
government and discipline, and also ordered the use of 
the psalms in singing. Count John rejoiced greatly at the 
introduction of the Reformed faith ; and next to Prince 
Casimir, was for a while the leading Reformed prince 
of Germany. Count John was a pious man and deeply 
attached to the Reformed faith. He was a temperance 
man and opposed the drinking customs of his age, es- 
pecially common among princes. 

Solms- Br aunsels. 

The Reformed doctrines did not stop with Nassau. 
Solms, which was a county composed of two parts, one 
called Solms, and the other Braunsels, situated south- 
east or in the southeastern part of Nassau, received the 

*Life of Count John, by Cuno, pages 18 — 20. 



260 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Reformed faith. Through intercourse with the Prince 
of Orange and Count John of Nassau, the Count of 
Solms came under the influence of the Reformed Church. 
It was Count John Albert I. of Solms-Braunsels, who 
fully introduced the Reformed faith into his land. He 
was educated at Strasburg under the Reformed influ- 
ence of Sturm. Soon after his accession to the throne 
in 1582, he began putting away altars and pictures from 
his Church ; introduced Reformed simplicity of worship 
and the breaking of bread at communion. He became, 
in 1600, the court-master of Elector Frederick IV. of 
the Palatinate, which position he held for twenty-one 
years. He became a very prominent statesman, repre- 
senting the Palatinate in many important negotiations. 
He was a pious man and deeply attached to the Re- 
formed faith. 

Wied. 

This little county was situated along the east bank 
of the Rhine, nearly opposite Coblentz. We have not 
time to rehearse the interesting story of Elector Herman 
of Cologne, prince of Wied, who from being fond of 
the chase, became fond of Christ ; and left Catholicism 
for Protestantism. He called Bucer, Melancthon and 
Lasco, to help him evangelize his land. We note, as an 
interesting fact, that while the cathedral at Strasburg 
at one time was Reformed, so, too, an attempt was made 
to make the cathedral at Cologne Reformed. Protest- 



WIED BECOMES REFORMED. 



261 



autism became so strong in that city, that Evangelical 
service was attempted in the cathedral at Cologne. But 
some coppersmiths came up out of the town and made 
such a noise that the preachers had to stop. The cathe- 
dral chapter at Cologne was always bitter against re- 
form. Elector Herman, through lack of sympathy from 
the Protestant princes, was deposed from his position. 
He retired to his private county of Wied, and spent his 
later years in introducing the reformation into it.* 

After Count Herman's death, in 1542, Count John 
IV. of Wied and Runkel succeeded him. His minis- 
ters and people gradually drifted toward the Reformed 
faith. At a synod of ministers of Wied, Dierdor, Run- 
kel and Isenberg, held June, 1564, at Honnefeld, a 
church government nearly like the Reformed was 
adopted, which appointed elders or censors in each con- 
gregation. It also ordered the introduction of the Hei- 
delberg Catechism, then just published in the Palatin- 

*Had Saxony and the Smalcald league upheld him, he might 
have retained his position. Three of the six Electors of Ger- 
many were already Protestants, and the fourth of the Electors 
would have thus been added to the Protestants' side, thus giv- 
ing a majority in the Electoral college, and securing ultimately 
the election of a Protestant Emperor, or of a Catholic Emperor 
kindly disposed to Protestantism. Had Herman been success- 
ful, other Catholic princes would have followed him into Prot- 
estantism, as the Elector of Treves and the Bishop of Munster. 
Indeed, it has been suggested that the Elector of Mayence, then 
a Humanist, might have followed his example. If so, all the 
Electors of Germany would have been Protestant. But the Ger- 
man princes, blinded by jealousy and bigotry, stood in their 
own light and refused to support him. 



262 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

ate. In 1575 he issued a church order, introducing the 
full presbyterial church government in the land. Count 
Herman I., the next ruler, was a very zealous Reformed 
priuce. He completed the organization of the Church 
by forming it, in 1586, into a general synod with the 
Churches of Nassau and Wittgenstein. 

These were the lands in which Olevianus was called 
to labor for the introduction of the Reformed faith. 
Persecution scatters the truth. The persecutions of the 
Palatinate, instead of crushing the Reformed faith in 
Germany, only scattered it abroad through these Wet- 
terau lands. The most important event for the Reformed 
Church was the establishment of a Reformed high 
school or university at Herborn by Count John of Dil- 
lenberg. He was, as we have already seen, a remarka- 
ble man. He had, before this, introduced German 
schools, instead of Latin schools, into his parishes. He 
even went so far as to introduce girls' schools into the 
villages; a thing then unheard of in the rural districts. 
He now turned his attention to a higher object, namely 
the founding of a university, that should supply Re- 
formed preachers for the churches. At first he was un- 
decided where to locate it ; whether at Dillenberg, Sieg- 
en or Herborn. But the logic of circumstances finally 
settled that. Pezel, the pastor at Herborn, was called 
to Bremen, to aid the Melancthonians of that city to 
resist the attacks of the Lutherans. So he resigned, 



HERBORN UNIVERSITY. 



263 



and Olevianus was called as his successor at Herborn. 
The coming of Olevianus settled the location of the 
school. It was located at Herborn, that Olevianus 
might oversee it. Count Lewis of Wittgenstein was at 
first very unwilling to give up Olevianus; but finally 
consented, when he saw the advantages to be gained 
thereby. There was another advantage in locating the 
school at Herborn. Count John had a castle at Her- 
born, which he gave up for use as a school. Not many 
princes would give up one of their castles to make a col- 
lege. But these Nassau princes were remarkable school 
builders. His brother, Prince William of Orange, 
afterwards founded the university of Leyden in Hol- 
land. And Count Lewis of Nassau founded the uni- 
versity of Franeker in Holland. This Herborn uni- 
versity was properly called the Johanneum, after its 
founder, who sacrificed so much to establish it. Thus 
a Reformed university arose, to take the place of the 
university of Heidelberg, which had gone over to Luth- 
eranism. The university was founded on July 10th, 
1584, the very day that Count John's brother, Prince 
William of Orange, was assassinated. The school soon 
rose to great prosperity. Olevianus and his successor, 
Piscator, were the chief ornaments of the university. 
It numbered among its students, young princes of the 
houses of Wittgenstein, Solms and Hanau. It flour- 
ished very greatly between 1606-10, when its students 



264 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

numbered three and four hundred, and came from all 
parts of Germany, even from Poland and Hungary. 
The golden age of this university was its first twenty 
years. Its sessions were held in the count's castle until 
1588 ; after that in the town, over the city hall or aula. 
But the school declined afterward, mainly because it 
was moved from place to place. It was moved to 
Siegen in 1594, because Count John was dissatisfied 
with the zeal of the citizens of Herborn in its interest. 
After five years, it was moved back again to Herborn. 
Then again, in 1605 it was moved to Siegen, on account 
of the plague at Herborn, and returned again after five 
years. This school was liberally supported by the Wet- 
terau Counts, and became a centre of Reformed influ- 
ence for their lands and for Germany. Olevianus' 
work of organizing the Churches of these lands was 
completed in 1586, when a General Synod of Nassau, 
Wied, Solms and Wittgenstein was held at Herborn, on 
the 13th of June, 1586. There were present seventeen 
delegates from Nassau, two from Wittgenstein, five 
from Solms, two from Wied, all of them ministers. It 
throughly organized the Church into presbyteries, clas- 
ses and synods. Its president was Olevianus. But 
Olevianus, through whose administrative ability this 
victory had been gained for the Reformed faith, was 
not permitted to enjoy it long. He died at Herborn, 
March 15, 1587, of dropsy. His death-bed was a glo- 



DEATH OF OLEVIANTJS. 



265 



rious testimony to the joy of his faith in Christ. " Yester- 
day/' he said, " I was filled for more than an hour with 
inexpressible joy. It seemed to me as if I walked on a 
splendid mead, and while I went round it, heavenly 
dew fell not in drops, but in streams. At which my 
body and soul rejoiced more than over every thing 
else." Professor Alsted asked him, as he sank into the 
sleep of death : " My brother, are you without doubt 
about your salvation in Christ Jesus, as you taught to 
others?" The dying Olevianus laid his hand on his 
heart and said : " Certissimus," (" I am most certain,") 
and fell asleep in Jesus. He was buried in the choir of 
the church at Herborn. On the wall of the choir is a 
metallic tablet that describes his virtues. He was a 
remarkable man, of great eloquence, fervid piety and 
fine executive ability, a rare combination of qualities. 
The sum of his faith is found in the first answer of the 
Heidelberg Catechism, his full belief, in his remarka- 
ble work on the Covenant of Grace. In this work he 
reveals himself as the forerunner of the Cocceian theol- 
ogy of the covenants, which spread through the Re- 
formed Church in the next generation. After Olevi- 
anus' death, his son-in-law Piscator became the great 
leader of the school at Herborn. His great work was a 
translation of the Bible, the first edition of which ap- 
peared in 1602-3. It was circulated in Nassau, but 
nowhere else, except in the Canton of Berne, (where it 
18 



266 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

is still in use,) and in Isenberg. His aim was to make 
Herborn a purely Reformed university. His orthodoxy 
was, however, once questioned by some of the French 
Reformed churches, because he held the insufficiency of 
the active obedience of Christ. But he was supported 
in this by leading German theologians of his day, as 
Pareus, Scultetus and Cappel. Piscator died in 1625. 

Hanau. 

While these events were taking place at Herborn, 
the Reformed faith was introduced into several other of 
these Wetterau lands. It spread into the counties to the 
south-east. Hanau, situated east of Frankford, received 
it. Count Phillip Lewis I. of Hanau-Munzenberg was, 
with the other German princes, asked to sign the For- 
mula of Concord. But, by his travels in France, he 
had learned the Reformed doctrines, and at Paris became 
so attached to Coligny, that he himself was in danger 
on the night of St. Bartholomew's massacre. Being 
thus inclined to the Reformed Church, he, with the 
other Wetterau counts, refused to sign the Formula of 
Concord. He began to simplify his Church of altars 
and pictures, and aimed more and more to introduce 
Reformed customs, until he died in 1580. His son, 
Count Phillip Lewis II., a minor, had two Reformed 
guardians and one Lutheran. The Reformed guardians, 
Count John of Dillenberg and Count Lewis of Wittgen- 



INTRODUCTION INTO HANAU. 



267 



stein, placed him at Herborn, where he was educated 
under Reformed influences. The Lutheran guardian, 
Count Phillip of Hanau-Lichtenberg, tried, by the ap- 
pointment of a Lutheran superintendent, to introduce 
the Formula of Concord into Hanau. The ministers 
and people rebelled against this, and after the superin- 
tendent's departure, Goebel and Fabricius, on Christmas, 
1593, introduced bread at the Lord's supper instead of 
wafers, which signified that the Church had now become 
Reformed. The Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg threatened 
to put out the Reformed by force. But Elector Frederick 
III. of the Palatinate came to the rescue of the Re- 
formed and warned him against severe measures. When 
Count Phillip II. became of age and assumed the rule 
of his land, he found it ready to receive the Reformed 
faith. All pictures, altars and fonts were put out of the 
churches and Reformed customs introduced.* With 
the help of Scultetus, the Reformed oracle of his time, 
the Palatinate church order was introduced. The Re- 
formed Church in this land was strengthened in 1597 
by the coming of the Dutch and French Reformed refu- 
gees from neighboring Frankford, who were driven out 
by the Lutherans. These brought prosperity to his 
land, as they were industrious artisans in silver, gold, 
silk and wool. His wife, Princess Catharine Belgica, 
the daughter of the Prince of Orange, was one of the 



*Heppe's Geschichte, Beider Hessen, II., 237. 



268 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY". 

most renowned Reformed princesses of her age. She 
took these Reformed refugees under her special care and 
protection. They built a part of the town called New 
Hanau, and also built a church, named, after Maria of 
Cassel, the 'Maria' church, A Reformed gymnasium 
was founded at Hanau in 1607. The Reformed, who 
remained in Frankford, were finally allowed to build a 
church just outside of the walls of Frankford in 1601. 
This church, although at first not allowed any separate 
organization from the Frankford Lutheran churches, 
finally came into connection with the Hanau Reformed 
Synod. 

Isenberg. 

Isenberg is a little county just north of Hanau and 
north-east of Frankford. The Formula of Concord 
drove the Count of Isenberg over to the Reformed 
faith. Count Wolfgang of Isenberg was influenced very 
much by Count John of Dillenberg, and also by the 
neighboring Count of Hanau. On Easter, 1584, he 
first received the Lord's supper after the Reformed 
mode at Kelsterbach, his castle on the banks of the 
Main. In spite of opposition from his family and from 
some Lutheran preachers, who declared the Turks were 
better than the Calvinists, he, with the aid of Herborn 
ministers, kept on introducing Reformed customs. No 
sooner was he dead, than his brother Henry, who was a 
Lutheran, sent all the Reformed preachers away from 



ISENBERG AND SAYN. 



269 



Isenberg Ronneberg. But Count Wolfgang Ernst I., 
son of Count of Birstein, re-introduced the Reformed 
faith into Isenberg. On the first of August, 1597, he 
gathered the ministers together at his castle at Birstein 
and urged them to introduce the Reformed simplicity of 
worship. He sent deputies through his land, who 
gathered the people together in the church yards, made 
known to them the desire of their Count, and advised 
them to go into the church and hear the sermon. They 
went into the church, and heard that altars and pictures 
were contrary to the Word of God. The congregations 
generally assented to these changes, and the Reformed 
faith was introduced into Isenberg Ronneberg, with the 
exception of Ruckingen, which remained Lutheran* 

Sayn. 

Count William of Sayn introduced the Reformed 
faith into his county of Sayn, situated east of the Rhine 
and north of Wied. He had Olevianus as his tutor at 
Berleberg, and he afterwards studied at Marburg and 
Herborn. In 1605 he assumed the rule over Sayn, 
which before had been Lutheran. He was assisted by 
the Herborn theologians in introducing the Reformed 
customs. He had not much difficulty in doing so, as 
two of the Lutheran pastors had just gone over to Rome ; 
and this opened the eyes of the people to the dangers 
still lurking in high Lutheranism and its rites. Still 



270 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

he had a great deal of opposition from the Elector of 
Treves, a powerful neighboring prince. Finally, in 
1599, when the Keformed were in danger of persecution 
from the Lutherans, because of the damnatory clause of 
the Formula of Concord, Count John of Nassau gath- 
ered the Counts of Hanau, Solms, Wied and Wittgen- 
stein into a confederation, to arrange for defense. 

Thus did the Reformed faith conquer the Wetterau 
districts. Driven from the Palatinate, it found a home 
in this region. Herborn began to rival Heidelberg. 
When the Reformed faith was re-introduced into the 
Palatinate, these lands sustained, and were sustained by, 
the Palatinate. And the conquering march of the Re- 
formed faith through Germany began. Nor did it end, 
until the Elector of Brandenburg ultimately became 
Reformed in his capital of Berlin. 



CHAPTER III.— SECTION III. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Bremen. 

Bremen was one of the free cities of North Germany, 
a large and influential town. Its conversion to the Re- 
formed faith gave the Reformed Church a new centre of 
influence, and aided Emden, which had formerly stood 
alone on the northern coast, in its witness for Reformed 
truth. The city of Bremen was early converted to Prot- 
estantism by Henry of Zutphen in 1522. The immedi- 
ate cause of the introduction of the Reformed faith into 
Bremen was Hardenberg, who came to Bremen in 1547. 
He had been the friend of Lasco, and had been named 
by Lasco as the superintendent of East Friesland. But 
in the battle of Drakenborg, 1547, in which Duke Eric 
of Brunswick was defeated and Bremen freed, Harden - 
berg took part ; and, although wounded, also took part 
in the entrance of the conquering army into Bremen. 
All the churches in Bremen had been Lutheran, except 
the cathedral, which had been closed since the Catholics 
left in 1532. Hardenberg was called as preacher in the 
cathedral. He was not to administer the sacraments, 
and he had no other duty as pastor, except to preach 



272 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

and hold a weekly Latin theological lecture. He was 
under the control of the cathedral chapter, and not under 
the city council, who controlled the rest of the ministers. 
The people of Bremen crowded to hear him preach, be- 
cause he preached " with such clearness and earnestness, 
which led them to piety and morality." Whether 
Probst or Timan, the two leaders of the Lutherans in 
Bremen, knew, when they called him to Bremen, that 
Harden berg was low in his Lutheranism, we do not 
know. But peace and harmony did not reign long. 
Already in 1547 his peculiar views on the sacrament 
caused talk among the Lutherans. But in 1548 he pub- 
lished a confession, which was almost the same in phra- 
seology as the Tigurine confession of the Swiss, issued 
the following year. The Lutheran preachers of Bremen 
were, however, satisfied with it. They had not as yet 
had their attention called to the heresies of Calvinism, 
and were somewhat careless about strict Lutheranism. 
(Probst, Luther's friend, had allowed Lasco to stay at 
Bremen for half a year in 1549 without any opposition • 
and also permitted him to take part in the Lord's supper 
at the Maria church.) This confession of Hardenberg's 
was approved by Melancthon, whose opinion still carried 
full authority. But gradually there came about an alien- 
ation between Hardenberg and the rest of the Lutheran 
preachers. His intercourse with Lasco in 1549 and 
1550 had affected him. When Lasco came back from 



HARDENBERG IN BREMEN. 



273 



England, the Lutheran preachers had been stirred up by 
Westphal of Hamburg against the Calvinists. And 
even Hardenberg is said to have become somewhat cooi 
toward Lasco, for his extreme Calvinistic views. The 
publication of Lasco's catechism in neighboring Em- 
den opened the eyes of Timan, to see that the dangers of 
Calvinism were around. He at once published his 'far- 
rago/ in which he advocated the doctrine of ubiquity, 
and urged that all the ministers of Bremen be urged to 
subscribe to it. Hardenberg and two others refused to 
sign the farrago. Hardenberg said the difference be- 
tween himself and the others was not in the doctrine of 
the Lord's supper, but in the doctrine of ubiquity. 
Timan then began to preach against Hardenberg as a 
Zwinglian. The magistrates sided with the Lutheran 
preachers. When they wanted to censure Hardenberg, 
he declined to be amenable to them ; for he said he 
was under the control of the cathedral chapter. So a 
delegation was, in 1557, sent to Wittenberg for Melanc- 
thon's opinion about the matter. The embassy returned 
with the advice that in the disputation about the Lord's 
supper, irrelevant contentions should be avoided. The 
advice was friendly to Hardenberg, for the Wittenberg 
divines opposed the doctrine of ubiquity as much as 
Hardenberg did. This advice, however, failed to sat- 
isfy the high Lutherans. The ministers of Bremen then 
desired Hardenberg's dismissal. But Hardenberg had 



274 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



prominent friends in the city council, as Burgomaster 
Daniel Van Buren, who opposed his dismissal. But out- 
side influences were brought to bear against Hardenberg. 
The King of Denmark wrote to the city council that 
they must dismiss him ; and so did the magistrates of 
Hamburg and Lubeck. In the meantime Timan died, 
and Probst became too old to conduct the controversy 
against Hardenberg. So Hesshuss was called in to de- 
fend the high Lutherans. He came fresh from Heidel- 
berg, smarting under his defeat there. He arranged for 
a disputation between Hardenberg and himself. But 
Hardenberg did not appear, as his cathedral chapter for- 
bade him ; for he was afraid for his life. So, as he did 
not appear, the citizens were summoned to appear before 
the council, and answer whether they were on Harden- 
berg's side or not. ^yhoever attended his preaching in 
the cathedral, was excommunicated in the city churches ; 
and the officials, who declared for him, were dismissed 
from their posts. So the Bremen zealots and the Cath- 
olic archbishop (who still claimed jurisdiction over the 
city) brought the matter before the neighboring Saxon 
circles of Brunswick-Luneberg and Celle, at a Diet at 
Brunswick, 1561. Hardenberg appeared there almost 
alone, accompanied only by his faithful Van Buren and 
a canon of the cathedral. Against him appeared a num- 
ber of high Lutherans, as Hesshuss, Mori in and Chem- 
nitz. The deeision of this Diet was, that Hardenberg 



VAN BUREN's EFFORTS. 



275 



was forbidden to preach in the cathedral, and was or- 
dered to leave the city within fourteen days. Harden- 
berg returned to Bremen, entered a protest against the 
decision, and on the 18th of February, 1561, left Bre- 
men amid the tears of the people. 

But his departure did not bring peace to Berlin. 
The defeat of Melancthonianism in Bremen did not de- 
stroy it. Hardenberg left behind him influential friends, 
chief among whom being Van Buren. Musaus came to 
Bremen as superintendent, in place of Hesshuss. In his 
first sermon he declared that he would not rest until the 
poor city, which had been turned by the Zwinglians into 
"a Sodom and Gomorrah," should be purified. Musaus 
endeavored to introduce a new high Lutheran church or- 
der, which gave great offense, and made many of the cit- 
izens enemies to his cause. And as an attempt was made 
in 1562 to defeat Van Buren for re-election as president 
of the city council, Van Buren went to the city hall at- 
tended by four thousand citizens. The result was that 
Musaus and twelve other zealous high Lutheran preach- 
ers, were compelled to leave the city, and the Lutheran 
councillors resigned from the council. Van Buren now 
had the power, and he filled the places of these minis- 
ters with Melancthonian preachers. This raised a great 
storm throughout North Germany. Bremen was called 
a new Sodom. Hamburg, Lubeck and Dantzic laid an 
embargo on all Bremish ships. Bremen was cast out of 
the Hanseatic League. Many of the Saxon and West- 



276 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

phalian states shut their borders against Bremen citizens. 
This quarantine against Bremen brought suffering on the 
city, but still she declared she would be true to the orig- 
inal faith and reject ubiquity. Finally, in 1568, the 
controversy, after an appeal to the imperial court, was 
settled by the adoption of the Melancthonian creeds. 
Those Lutherans, who had been driven out of the city, 
were allowed to return. In 1572 a high Lutheran 
preacher again appeared at St. Ansgari church, but Bre- 
men remained true to Melancthon. The Formula of 
Concord capped the climax. Opposed to ubiquity, the 
citizens opposed this. An attempt was made to intro- 
duce it into Bremen. A copy of it was sent in 1577 to 
Glaneus, the pastor of St. Ansgari church, that he might 
introduce it. He presented it to the council of the city. 
But superintendent Mening opposed the book. The 
ministers and city council refused to subscribe to it, or 
to make subscription to it obligatory on the ministers of 
Bremen. Glaneus then began to preach against those 
who opposed the Formula of Concord. He was ordered 
to stop. But his friends, Rocholl and Naso of St. Mar- 
tin's church, upheld him. The city council, therefore, 
to answer these polemics, called Pezel and Widebram 
from Herborn. Pezel came in 1580. A disputation 
was held, which only resulted in more quarreling after 
the disputation. Glaneus strove to get the Catholic 
archbishop, the former administrator of Bremen, to in- 
terfere in his favor, as he had done for Hardenberg 



VICTORY OF THE REFORMED. 



277 



twenty years before. But the citizens of Bremen arose 
against such unwarranted interference from the arch- 
bishop. And, as Glaneus continued to make trouble, 
he was dismissed. In 1582 Pezel became pastor of St. 
Ansgari church in Glaneus' place, and after superinten- 
dent Mening's death in 1584, he became superintendent. 
He became the first professor of theology in the new gym- 
nasium, that had been founded there. Thus, driven 
out by the high Lutherans, Bremen went over to the 
Reformed faith. Pezel introduced breaking of bread 
at the Lord's supper, which made the Church Reformed. 
He also put away exorcism, and images and pictures. 
In 1595 he drew up the Bremen Confession, which is 
strongly Reformed. In it he adopts the Calvinistic doc- 
trine of predestination, sharply distinguishing between 
predestination and reprobation. This Bremen Confes- 
sion was signed by all the Bremen ministers down to 
1780. The Heidelberg Catechism was also introduced, 
although the Bremen Catechism remained in use till in 
the last century. 

Thus Bremen became Reformed. By a strange co- 
incidence, the old cathedral, in which Hardenberg had 
opposed the Lutherans and first prepared the way for 
the Reformed faith, finally became the only Lutheran 
church of the city. It was opened in 1638 for the Lu- 
therans. And while the other churches of the city re- 
mained Reformed, this became the leading Lutheran 
church of the city. 



CHAPTER III. — SECTION IV. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith Along the Lower 
Rhine. 

There were two general synods of the Reformed 
Church formed in the lower Rhine districts, the large 
synod of Julich-Cleve-Berg and Mark around Cologne, 
and also a smaller synod, taking in the counties of 
Bentheim and Tecklenberg farther north.* These synods 
felt the influence of neighboring Holland, and the for- 
mer especially revealed unusual piety and pure presby- 
terianism. 

The Synod of Julich-Cleve-Berg and Mark. 

The movement that led to the formation of this 
synod, began as early as 1545. It is noticeable that this 
synod began with Holland refugees ; but finally changed 
into a German synod. At first it was a foreign Church, 
but gradually changed into a native German Church. 
In 1545 a number of Holland refugees, fleeing from 
their land, found a refuge at Wesel in northwestern 
Germany. The city council of Wesel would not receive 
them at first, as the rites of their Church were different 



*See map. 



THE REFUGEES AT WESEL. 



279 



from the Lutheran customs of Wesel. But they were 
finally permitted to remain, after signing a Melanctho- 
nian creed. They were allowed to have worship in 
their own language and after their own fashion, but 
were not permitted to baptize or commune, except in 
one of the Lutheran congregations of the city. The 
introduction of the Interim, which Wesel very bitterly 
resisted, caused many of the Lutherans to worship with 
the Reformed in private houses ; and there they learned 
to love the simple and Scriptural worship of the Re- 
formed Church. The persecutions of the Interim, too, 
opened their eyes to the Romish dangers that were lurk- 
ing in some of the Lutheran rites of that day. The 
influence of the Reformed faith was strengthened by 
another arrival of refugees at Wesel in 1554, when 
Lasco's congregation arrived from London. There 
were then four foreign congregations at Wesel, an Eng- 
lish, French, Walloon or French, and low Dutch. Al- 
though these refugees were Calvinists, Wesel still re- 
ceived them, because of the temporal benefits to be de- 
rived from them ; for they were merchants and manu- 
facturers of cloth, lace and yarn. The refugees brought 
prosperity wherever the settled, and even Catholic cities 
like Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne were willing to receive 
them, and grant them religious privileges, because of 
the temporal benefits derived from them. Through the 
coming of these refugees, Wesel became so prosperous 



280 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

that it was called " little Antwerp."* After these Eng- 
lish refugees had arrived, a circumstance occurred, in 
which the refugees insisted on their right to use Re- 
formed rites. One of the English ministers, curate to 
the Duchess of Suffolk, wanted to baptize her child. 
The refugees had not been permitted to baptize, as all 
the baptisms had to be performed in one of the city 
Lutherau churches, by the Lutheran clergy. The refu- 
gees then made complaint to the city authorities that 
they were compelled to partake of the Lord's supper in 
the city churches, where the service was strange and in 
a strange language, and the semi-papal customs at the 
altar, such as altars, choir-robes and lights, were offens- 
ive to them. These refugees, especially the Walloons, 
who were a hot-blooded race, were very determined. 
They had been driven out of their land by persecution ; 
and they were willing to bear another persecution, 
rather than give up any right of conscience. As an 
illustration of the devotion of these Walloons at Wesel, 
Bertrand de Bias from Tournay went back twice to his 
home that he might convert his family to Protestant- 
ism. In 1555 he went again. On Christmas, he asked 
his wife and brothers to pray for the success of his 
efforts. Then during mass he went up to the priest, 
took the consecrated wafer from his hand, trod it under 

*The Catholics bad a couplet that ran thus : 

Geneva, Wesel and Rochelle 
Are the Devil's second hell. 



THE REFUGEES AT WESEL. 



281 



foot and said : " This I do for the glory of God, and to 
show the impotence of this wafer." Imprisoned for 
this, he remained unshaken, and confessed that all his 
knowledge of the truth he owed to the preaching he had 
heard at Wesel. He bravely suffered death. His hand 
and feet were torn off with hot pincers, his tongue cut 
out, and w T hile still alive, he was hung over a slow fire 
and burned to ashes. Men of such perseverance and 
bravery were not to be refused, when they asked for per- 
mission to worship according to the Reformed rites. 
They had suffered, or were willing to suffer, too much 
for their Reformed faith to give it up. But the city 
authorities would not yield to their request. They 
threatened to drive out the refugees for finding fault with 
the Lutherans of Wesel. Melancthon was appealed to 
for advice. He counselled the authorities of Wesel to 
use mildness, and allow these refugees to have their 
own worship and observe their own sacraments, as 
they had been allowed to do in Frankford and Stras- 
burg. But Melancthon's advice did not bring peace. 
The refugees placed themselves under his protection ; 
but the high Lutherans were still opposed to them. 
Even the German ministers of Wesel were not united 
among themselves. Bommel sympathized with Me- 
lancthon and the refugees. The other ministers stirred 
up the people against them, so that the refugees were 
attacked and beaten with fists. Bommel soon after left 
19 



282 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the city, because the Duke of Cleve ordered the re- 
introduction of Catholic customs. But in the place of 
Bommel, came two ministers — Heidfeld from Treves, 
and Orzenius. They were followers of Melancthon, 
but afterwards went over to the Reformed faith. So 
the strife between the Lutherans themselves became 
greater. Heidfeld and Orzenins were Melaucthonians, 
while Plateanus, of the church of St. Antonius, was 
high Lutheran. The latter aimed to introduce high 
Lutheran customs, as exorcism, which heretofore had 
been unknown as a Protestant rite to the people along 
the Rhine. The Melancthonian party opposed these 
innovations, and were strengthened by the coming of 
another minister, Rollius, formerly court-preacher of 
the Duke of Julich. Rollius was now tending toward 
the Reformed doctrines. So there were three city min- 
isters against Plateanus. Plateanus called in Hesshuss, 
to assist him in introducing high Lutheranism. Hess- 
huss came from Heidelberg, to warn the people against 
the poison of Reformed doctrine, which was entering 
Germany, and was now spreading from the refugees' 
churches of Wesel into its city churches. But Hess- 
huss' efforts had the same effect here as at Heidelberg. 
They led to the introduction of the Reformed faith 
here as there. For Rollius gained the burgomaster of 
the city, Von Grove, to his side. Plateanus was dis- 
missed and the high Lutherans driven out. When the 



THE SYNOD OF WESEL. 



283 



Heidelberg Catechism appeared, in 1563, sanctioned by 
so powerful a prince as Elector Frederick III. of the 
Palatinate, Wesel was ripe for its reception. It was 
adopted in 1564 by the Wesel city churches, who, by 
this act, became Reformed. Wesel was the first place 
outside of the Palatinate, where the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism was officially adopted by any church. The Re- 
formed churches of Wesel were greatly strengthened by 
the large influx of refugees from Holland in 1567, driven 
out by the cruelties of the Duke of Alva. They came not 
by hundreds, but by thousands, and made this Church 
of Wesel the leading refugee Church along the lower 
Rhine ; as Heidelberg was along the upper Rhine. 
Other smaller colonies were formed. Reformed churches 
were scattered all over different parts of northwestern 
Germany. They called themselves ' churches under the 
cross/ or secret Reformed churches, because they were 
persecuted refugees and often existed in places, where 
they were so persecuted, that their religious services 
were held in houses and kept secret. 

In 1568 a synod, or rather a conference, of these 
refugee churches was held at Wesel. This was the 
first official meeting of the Reformed churches of the 
lower Rhine. It was a Dutch synod meeting on German 
ground, no German churches having been admitted to it. 
Twenty of these 'churches of the cross' were represented 
in this synod. Forty-six ministers and elders attended 



284 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



it, while seven absentees agreed to its decisions. The 
president of this synod was Dathenus, the court preacher 
of Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate. The synod 
evidently aimed to place itself as far as possible un- 
der the protection of such a powerful German prince as 
Frederick. This Wesel synod was a very important one, 
as it secured the union of the Zwinglian followers of Las- 
co with the Walloon or French adherents of Calvin. 
What the confession of Tigurinus was to the southern 
churches, by uniting the Zwinglians and Calvinists of 
Switzerland ; the decrees of this Wesel synod were to the 
northern churches of Germany, in uniting them. This 
Wesel synod held strongly to all the essentials of the Re- 
formed faith, especially as they were laid down in the 
word of God. But all non-essential differences between 
the Zwinglian followers of Lasco and the adherents of 
Calvin were left to work themselves out. These non- 
essentials were mainly differences in custom, not in doc- 
trine or church government.* 

*They were : Whether sprinkling at baptism was to be per- 
formed once, twice or three times ; whether baptism was to be 
performed before or after service ; whether godfathers were to 
be allowed at baptism, or the whole congregation act as god- 
fathers. In regard to the Lord's supper : Whether the elements 
were to be received in a sitting or standing posture, or by com- 
ing forward to the communion table. (It is noticeable that all 
the Reformed churches, except of France, protested against 
kneeling at the Lord's supper ; for kneeling was looked upon 
as a sort of worship of the supper.) Another difference was, 
whether the elements should be administered in connection 
with the reading of the Scriptures, or during the singing of a 



ITS CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 



285 



A most important decision of this synod was in 
reference to church government. This Church was a 
free Church ; not being united to the state at all. This 
allowed it freedom for development and secured for it 
independence of action. It introduced pure presbyte- 
rianism. What Lambert of Avignon had tried to in- 
troduce into Hesse in 1529, but was not able fully to 
do, was now introduced into Germany by the Wesel 
synod of 1568. It was a fuller presbyterianism than 
existed in the Reformed Church of the Palatinate, for 
that was a government by synods ; but this was a gov- 
ernment by presbyteries. The decrees of this Wesel 
synod emphasized the prominence of the eldership. 
According to them, the minister was called by the eld- 
ers — aristocratic presbyterianism. This was afterward 
changed by the next synod at Emden to a call by the 
whole congregation — democratic presbyterianism. Thus 
was the aristocratic presbyterianism of Calvin set over 
against the democratic presbyterianism of Lasco, and 
the latter prevailed. The decrees of this synod follow 
quite closely the church order of Lasco at London, 
which appointed four offices in the congregation — min- 
isters, prophets, elders and deacons. The prophets or 

psalm. Also whether In ordination the minister was to be re- 
ceived by the laying on of hands, or merely by prayer. These 
non-essentials were left for each congregation to decide, while 
the essentials of Reformed doctrine and government were stead- 
fastly adhered to. This synod thus set the example for future 
unions among the Reformed churches. 



286 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

teachers were to explain the Bible once or twice a week 
publicly — only greater liberty was now given the con- 
gregation to ask questions, than at London. Here was 
the beginning of the prayer meeting in the Reformed 
Church. Prayer meetings are as old as the Reformed 
Church of Germany. Free prayer was also ordered to 
be used in the regular Sabbath service. The decrees of 
the synod say : "The confession of sin may be free or 
after the Genevan form. The prayer after the sermon 
shall be free." This is the warrant for the free service 
now so common in the Reformed Churches in Germany 
and in this land. The remaining liturgical forms in 
the regular Sabbath service were afterwards driven out 
of the Reformed churches of the Lower Rhine by the 
revival of Labadie in the next century. After his day 
the Sabbath service in the Reformed churches was free, 
the liturgy being used only on sacramental occasions.* 
Before the service an elder or a deacon read a chapter 
out of the Bible — a custom still prevalent in the Re- 
formed churches of Holland. Dathenus was a great 
believer in psalm singing. Through his influence, its 
use was sanctioned, and the singing of psalms became 
customary in the Reformed Church of Germany. These 
decrees were careful to avoid any Catholic customs. 
Baptism was to be administered only by the minister, 
and before the congregation, except in cases of sickness ; 

♦Goebel, I., 420; Goebel, II., 121-2. 



THE SYNOD OF EMDEN. 



287 



when it might take place before a few persons, who 
would be considered as a small congregation. The 
Lord's supper was to be preceded by a visitation of the 
members and a preparatory service. The congregation 
was divided into parishes and visited by the elders. At 
the Lord's supper only bread and not wafers could be 
used. Church discipline was to be strictly enforced. 
The Belgic Confession was adopted. Calvin's catechism 
was adopted for the French churches, and the Heidel- 
berg ordered to be used in the German congregations.* 
The second synod was held at Emden, in 1571. It 
was held under the protection of Count Adolph of Nue- 
nar. It also aimed to place itself under the more pow- 
erful protection of the Elector of the Palatinate, by 
electing Heidanus of the Palatinate as president. This 
synod completed the work begun at Wesel three years 
before. It thoroughly organized the refugee churches, 
or ' churches of the cross.' It organized them into 
general synods, provincial synods and classes. There 
were three provincial synods appointed — the German, 
Belgic and English. The German provincial synod 
consisted of the refugee churches of Julich, Cleve and 
refugee churches of Emden. The Belgic provincial 
synod was divided into four parts — Brabant, Dutch 
Flanders, Welsch Flanders, and Holland. The English 

*Monheim, rector of a school at Dusseldorf, prepared a cate- 
chism in 1560, which was mainly Calvinistic. It was to be used 
for teaching the youth in the schools. 



288 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

province was not, as yet, districted. Classes were to be 
convened every six months ; consistories were to hold 
weekly meetings ; provincial synods, yearly ; and the 
general synod, triennial meetings. Thus was completed 
the ideal of Lambert of Avignon, of a church depen- 
dent not on birth, but on conversion ; of a church not 
united to the state, but free from it and existing along- 
side of it. This thorough organization greatly facilitated 
the growth of personal piety in the churches, and made 
them strong enough to resist Catholicism. It prepared 
them for the baptism of blood, which came upon these 
churches in Western Germany, and especially in Hol- 
land, whither the refugees soon returned. Without such 
an organization, and the personal piety it developed, the 
Germans could not have borne the Thirty Years' War, 
nor the Hollanders the eighty years of conflict before 
them. 

Classis of Cleve. 

The first meeting of this newly organized classis was 
held at Wesel in 1572. Over the gate of Cleve is cut 
in stone the beautiful and significant words : " I stand 
open to the pious." The gate of this classis stood open 
to the pious, and it gradually received German and 
French churches into itself. It thus brought the Ger- 
mans of the lower Ehine into the Reformed Church. 
This classis consisted of the Wesel, Goch, Gennep, Em- 
dei , Rees churches ; and the church of Duisburg was 



THE CLASSIS OF CLEVE. 



289 



invited to join it. Although composed of Dutch church- 
es, it invited French churches to join it. Its meetings 
were generally held at Wesel, under the presidency of 
Dr. Nielle, pastor of the French or Walloon congrega- 
tion at Wesel. And now comes the most important 
event, — the reception into this Dutch classis of its first 
German congregation. The German congregation at 
Wesel, of which Heidfeld was pastor, was received into 
it in 1577. This prepared the way for reaching the 
Germans and bringing them into the Reformed Church. 
For this was the first of the German churches on the 
lower Rhine to join the Reformed Church. Others 
soon followed. Thus the Holland churches began to 
leaven the Germans with Reformed doctrines and the 
simple Reformed worship, and with their earnest piety, 
which made a deep impression on the Germans around 
them. The German membership in the classis and 
synod gradually became stronger and stronger. When 
the Dutch refugees went back to Holland after 1579, 
the Dutch element in the classis and synod became 
weaker and weaker, until the whole synod with its 
classes became a German organization. The Dutch 
language was gradually supplanted by the German in 
the sessions of synod. And when the Dutch had re- 
turned home, there remained a German synod of Julich- 
Cleve-Berg. The Cleve classis was held every six 
months, in spite of the dangers from the troops of the 



290 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

neighboring Netherlands. It, however, had no meet- 
ings from 1598 until 1603, because it was devastated by 
the Spaniards. 

Classis of Julich. 

This classis lay along the west bank of the Rhine, 
west of Cologne. Its two main centres of influence 
were, strange to say, the Catholic towns of Cologne and 
Aix-la-Chapelle. The first meeting of the classis of 
Julich was held in 1572.* It adopted the Emden Ar- 
ticles and the Belgic Confession, and was in close con- 
nection with Heidelberg. All theological questions were 
submitted to the faculty of Heidelberg university, and 
most of its ministers came from Heidelberg. A peculi- 
arity of this classis was that nearly all of its churches 
were secret churches, or ' churches of the cross.' The 
congregations had to worship in houses, because of 
the persecutions of the neighboring Elector of Cologne 
or of the Spaniards of the Netherlands. It was ' the 
Church in the house/ as in the days of the apostles. 
The churches were also influenced toward the Reformed 
faith by being so near to Holland. The city of Aix- 
la-Chapelle at first opposed the coming of the Reformed 
refugees ; but finally, on account of commercial advan- 
tages, it received them. Their number increased, until 
in the latter part of the sixteenth century one-third of 

-^Originally this classis included in it what afterwards became 
the synod of Berg, east of the Rhine. 



THE CLASSIS OF JULICH. 



291 



the town was Reformed. But in 1598 Aix-la-Chapelle 
was declared under the ban of the Spaniards. Reformed 
worship was forbidden, and the Evangelicals had to flee. 
In 1612, owing to the protection of the Elector of Bran- 
denberg and the Duke of Pfalz-Neuberg, they again 
rose to a majority, so that three-fourths of the town was 
Reformed. But in 1614 persecutions again began. 
Thousands had to leave. The rich merchants or manu- 
facturers, who remained, went to neighboring Vaels in 
Holland for worship, or else held private service in 
their homes. Religious freedom was not granted to the 
Reformed of Aix-la-Chapelle until 1804, when the 
French granted it to them. The Lutherans and the 
Reformed were theu given the St. Anna cloister.* 

Cologne, though the seat of a Catholic archbishop- 
ric, was another centre of influence for the Reformed 
Church. Refugees were found there, who had worship 
in their own houses. Their preachers would live in 
the neighboring county of Julich and secretly come into 
the city when they were to preach. To escape Catholic 
baptism and marriage, the Reformed of Cologne would 
live for a while outside of the city, so that these rites 
might be performed by Protestant ministers. They did 
this, although there was a fine of 25 ducats for doing it. 
Finally, supported by the Count of Nuenar, whose pos- 

*This United or Evangelical Church numbered, in 1850, two 
thousand souls. 



292 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



sessions adjoined the western end of Cologne, they took 
courage to ask the city council and the cathedral chapter 
for a church, in which the Evangelicals might worship. 
To encourage these Evangelicals, Count Adolph of Nue- 
nar allowed his court preacher and the court preacher 
of Zweibrticken (probably Pantaleon Candidus), who 
was staying with him, to preach at Mechtern.* Here 
service was held for three successive Sabbaths in June, 
1582. This created a great excitement in Cologne. 
The chapter of the Catholic cathedral held daily meet- 
ings to consider how the influence of these meetings 
might be stopped. They urged the city council to shut 
the city gates ; and to forbid the citizens from attend- 
ing Protestant service, by arresting, and fining and ex- 
iling those who attended them. But still on the third 
Sabbath, thousands of Evangelicals went to these ser- 
vices at Mechtern. The city council made an attempt 
to disperse them by a bombardment ; but this did not 
succeed, because the neighboring Reformed counts of 
Nuenar, Bentheim, Daun-Falkenstein and Solms pre- 
vented it. The city council, now thoroughly alarmed 
at the power of the Evangelicals, as revealed by these 
meetings, shut the city gates against the market people. 
All strangers who had come into the city since 1664, 
and were not Catholics, were ordered to leave within 

-Mechtern was hardly a quarter of an hour's walk from the 
Ehrenthor or honoi-gate of Cologne. 



THE REFORMATION IN COLOGNE. 



293 



four weeks. The Elector of Cologne, Gebhard Truch- 
sess, was friendly to the Evangelicals, but the cathedral 
chapter at Cologne was strongly against them. Geb- 
hard issued a church order, by which Protestautism was 
introduced into many towns along the Rhine. He him- 
self became Protestant in 1582. But he and his pious 
provost of the cathedral, Count George of Solms, were 
soon displaced from their positions.* So Cologne was 
lost to Protestantism, and Gebhard retired to Strasburg, 
where he became a member of the cathedral chapter, 
and died in 1601. But in spite of these persecutions, 
Protestantism still lingered in Cologne. The spirit of 
Protestantism rose again and again. Stephen Isaac, a 
priest of the church of St. Maria Ablass, began preach- 
ing against Catholic errors and abuses. He had before 
this entered into a discussion with some deposed priests 
of Cologne, and they had given him a paper against the 

*Had the Lutheran princes of Germany supported Elector 
Gebhard, his whole laud would have become Protestant. An- 
other, and the fourth Electorate and the deciding vote in the 
Electoral college, would have become Protestant. The Bishop 
of Wurzburg was ready, too, to follow Gebhard into Protestant- 
ism. But Gebhard had allowed Pantaleon Candidus, who 
was suspected of leaning to Calvinism, to marry him to Agnes 
of Mansfield. Gebhard himself was suspeoted, by those prin- 
ces, of leaning toward the Reformed faith. So tne Lutheran 
Electors of Saxony, and Brandenberg, and also of the Palati- 
nate, forsook his cause. And the Catholics deposed him from 
the Electorate. Only Prince Casimir of the Palatinate came to 
his assistance with a small army ; but he was soon called away 
by the death of his brother Lewis, to resume control of the Pa- 
latinate. 



294 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

mass by Sadel, which Isaac, to his horror, found he was 
not able to refute. While Gebhard was Elector, he, in 
1582, preached a sermon against the idolatry of the 
Catholic Church, which caused a great stir, but nothing 
was done against him through the protection of Geb- 
hard. But when, under the next Elector, Ernest of 
Bavaria, a strict Catholic, he preached a sermon against 
the use of pictures in the Catholic Church, he was or- 
dered to cease preaching. His congregation was de- 
votedly attached to him. As he did not appear at the 
appointed time to hold service, the people assembled in 
thousands and became so threatening, that finally the 
Catholics had to bring him out, so as to quiet the peo- 
ple. He struggled through the crowd into the church, 
until he had reached the choir. Then he urged the 
the crowd to go home quietly, which they did at his re- 
quest. But some Jesuits and Spaniards, who were in 
the crowd, and who used abusive expressions against 
him, received blows from the people, who strongly sym- 
pathized with him. The easily fooled populace were 
soon turned from their adherence to Isaac by a new 
Catholic miracle. A picture of the Virgin in the chapel 
of his parish began to sweat, and the people were drawn 
to it. Isaac said he would rather beg than accept such 
idolatry as that any longer. As he was kept under the 
ban at Cologne, he left the city and became a minister 
in the Reformed Church, probably in Meurs or the Pa- 



THE CLASSIS OF JULICH. 



295 



latinate. Many of the Reformed went to this county of 
Meurs, which became a thoroughly Reformed land. 
But in 1586 the city of Meurs was stormed by the 
Spaniards. The Reformed preacher was hung. In 
1584 two Reformed preachers at Bonn were bound hand 
and foot, and thrown into the Rhine. One of them, 
John of Northausen, saved himself almost as by a mira- 
cle. The Reformed faith had already spread into Nue- 
nar. Prince Herman II. of Nuenar had married the 
sister of the Prince of Orange, which led him to become 
Reformed. His successor, Count Adolph, fully intro- 
duced the Reformed faith, and Nuenar became a strongly 
Reformed county and an asylum for the persecuted Re- 
formed. Count Adolph founded a Gymnasium called 
the Adolphinium ; but, being defeated in the war for 
Cologne, he was driven out of his land by the Spaniards 
in 1586. He then became governor of Guelders and 
Utrecht in Holland, where he was killed by an explo- 
sion. 

But although Stephen Isaac was driven out of Co- 
logne by the Catholics, Cologne still remained a nur- 
sery of the Reformed faith. John Badius, who had 
been a friend of Olevianus, was a pastor of the refugee 
church of Cologne. Through his efforts the Reformed 
faith was spread through the neighborhood around Co- 
logne. He introduced the Reformed doctrines into the 
neighboring county of Berg, east of the Rhine. Through 



296 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the influence of Count Adolph, his nephew Count Wir- 
ich of Daun-Falkenstein, at Bruch near Muhlheim, be- 
came Reformed. His neighbor, Count William of Bern- 
sau-Hardenberg, married the sister of Count Wirich. 
He also introduced the Reformed faith into his land. 
Thus the evangelical doctrines were introduced east of 
the Rhine. At the request of the Count of Hardenberg, 
Badius introduced the Reformed faith into the county 
of Berg by organizing a synod in July 1589, at Neviges. 
At first this synod was part of the Julich synod. (The 
J ulich classes had by this time grown into a synod.) This 
synod of Berg gradually introduced Reformed church 
customs and government into Berg, where the Protest- 
ants previously had been Lutherans. In 1595 wafers 
were put away and bread used at the Lord's supper. 
These were the beginnings of what is now the largest 
Reformed church in Germany at Elberfeld. Badius, 
after having been an apostle of the Reformed faith, was 
in prisoned at Cologne in 1590 and then went to Aix-la- 
Chapelle, where he died.* In 1608 another Reformed 
episode occurred in Cologne, where secret worship in 
private houses was always maintained. An elder of the 
Reformed church named Reinerus of Roermond, a mem- 
ber of the coopers' guild, brought charges that the city 

*An interesting tale in German, " Die Graf en von Broich und 
Styrum," by Frey, published at Muhlheim ou the Ruhr, gives 
an idea of the persecutions and wars of Count Wirich of Daun- 
Falkenstein. 



FOUNDING OF MUEHLHEIM. 



297 



council had robbed the citizens out of their rights by un- 
lawful methods. There must have been some truth in 
his charge ; for he found many supporters among the 
Catholics. His whole guild of coopers (although only 
80 out of 600 were Protestants), rebelled against the city 
authorities. The other guilds or trades sympathized 
with the coopers. The city council would have impris- 
oned Reinerus, but dared not, because of the number of 
persons friendly to him. This state of unrest continued 
until Easter, 1609, when the city council joined hands 
with the priests and tried to convert this labor trouble 
into a religious quarrel between the Protestants and the 
Catholics. The guilds that were composed largely of 
Catholics, now receded from sympathy with Reinerus, 
because he was a Protestant. So he and his followers 
were banished. His adherents went across the Rhine to 
Miihlheim, half a mile away, where they would be under 
the protection of the princes of Brandenberg and Neu- 
berg ; as the whole county of Julich-Cleve-Berg had 
fallen to these two princes by inheritance. Cologne suf- 
fered very greatly by this loss of her best citizens, but 
they became the foundation of Miihlheim, which was 
destined to play so important a part in future Reformed 
history.* The Reformed who remained in Cologne went 
in summer to Miihlheim to worship, and in winter to 

*Muehlheim is now one of the largest Reformed congrega- 
tions in Germany. 

20 



298 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Frechen on the west side of the Rhine. (The Reformed 
people of Cologne were always glad to have the troops of 
Brandenberg quartered in Cologne, for they always at- 
tended their services. Indeed the German church then 
numbered 2,000 souls.) In constitution this Reformed 
congregation of Cologne was interesting. The whole 
city was divided into ten parts, to each of w r hich an el- 
der was allotted. His duty was to notify the members 
when service was held in the various houses. During 
the service the house had an elder as a watcher on the 
outside, while on the inside of the door stood a deacon 
If any member committed an offense, he was not notified 
of the services for a w T hile. 

But after the Duke of Pfalz-Xeuberg went over to 
Catholicism, the Catholics were again stirred up against 
the Protestants. The magistrates of Cologne, one day 
before Michelis, stirred up the artisans of Cologne, and 
told them that if they did not destroy Muhlheim and 
raze it to the ground the next night, they would lose their 
trade. They refused to do so until the mayor and coun- 
cil agreed to go along. So under the pretense of seizing 
a murderer, they shut the city gates of Cologne, so that 
no one might go to Miihlheim and warn it of its danger. 
At 3 A. M. eight hundred of these artisans, and two 
hundred plunderers, after being told that their nefarious 
design would be pleasing to the Emperor and the Duke 
of Xeuberg, and necessary to the safety of Cologne, started 



SYNOD OF JULICH-CLEVE-BERG AND MARK. 299 

out. They took the inhabitants of Muhlheim unawares, 
razed the city, so that not one stone was left on another. 
And to make the sad condition of the inhabitants of that 
city worse, not one of them was allowed to find refuge in 
Cologne. Muhlheim afterwards rose to prosperity again. 

Synod of Julich-Cleve-Berg and Mark. 

These three synods of Julich-Cleve-Berg continued 
to be an integral part of the Reformed Church of the 
Netherlands until 1610. They received protection from 
Holland, and followed it in theology, receiving from it, 
ministers and customs. The district of Julich-Cleve- 
Berg came under the control of the Elector of Branden- 
berg and the Duke of Pfalz-Neuberg in the early part 
of the seventeenth century. The Reformed were some- 
what fearful of this change of rulers, as both of them 
at first were Lutheran. But the representative of the 
Elector of Brandenberg, Margrave Ernest, in 1609, re- 
ceived Reformed communion at Wesel, thus going over 
to the Reformed faith. And finally the Elector of 
Brandenberg himself became Reformed ; while the Duke 
of Neuberg went over to Catholicism. Under the pro- 
tection of the Reformed Elector of Brandenberg, this 
synod of Julich-Cleve-Berg became independent of the 
Dutch Reformed Church. It was enlarged in 1611 by 
the addition of the synod of Mark. This general synod 
met every two years for two hundred years, except in a 
few instances, when war prevented it. 



300 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Thus we see that the Reformed Church along the 
lower Rhine existed and grew with difficulty. The 
Cologne war brought persecution. After the death of 
the Duke of Julich-Cleve, Brandenberg and Pfalz- 
Neuberg had a quarrel about the succession to that land. 
They ruled it conjointly for about a year, and then they 
broke with each other. The Elector Sigismund in an 
evil hour boxed the ear of the Duke of Neuberg, at a 
wedding at Dusseldorf. The Duke went away in a 
rage, finally joined the Catholics, and, as a result, the 
Reformed were very greatly oppressed in Berg and Ju- 
lich, the counties that fell to him. The Duke of Pfalz- 
Neuberg converted Neuberg back to the Catholic Church 
again ; and tried to do so in Julich and Berg, but failing 
to do so, he took sides with the Lutherans against the 
Reformed. When the Duke of Neuberg found that 
the Reformed General Synod had been formed in 1610, 
he ordered, to offset it, the organization of a Lutheran 
synod in 1612. Thus the two Churches remained dis- 
tinctly separated. But the Julich and Berg Churches, 
being under his control, suffered severely. During 
these various persecutions along the Rhine, whole clas- 
ses and congregations went down ; as for instance in 
Meurs, west of the Rhine. The persecutions were not 
so severe east of the Rhine, in Berg, because of the 
influence of the neighboring Protestant princes of Wal- 
deck, Hesse and Brandenberg. But Solingen, east of 



CUSTOMS OF THE RHENISH CHURCH. 301 



the Rhine, suffered severely in 1600. The pulpit of 
Elberfeld was forbidden to pastor Kalman, and the 
church given to the Catholics, although only six fami- 
lies in the town were Catholics. All these persecutions 
begot an intense hatred among the people for Catholic 
forms. The result was that the lower Rhine Reformed 
Church became most bitterly opposed to all Romish 
forms and faith. This synod was very much influenced 
by the neighboring Holland Church. The early Dutch 
emigrants left their stamp on it, by their personal piety 
and strict discipline. The churches were often called 
nothing but meeting houses or preaching houses. The 
pulpit stood in the middle of the church, under it a 
simple communion table without crucifixes, crosses and 
pictures; as the second commandment forbade all these. 
The preacher never turned his back to the people, but 
always faced them, never facing the altar.* The church 
services were begun, as in Geneva, by the reading of 
Scripture for half an hour, then a short hymn, prayer, 
hymn, sermon, prayer, hymn, benediction. The serv- 
ice was very plain. The church government was thor- 
oughly presbyterian. A representation of the elders 
was required in the church courts. If a minister ap- 
peared without an elder, the congregation was censured, 
or the minister not admitted ; although exceptions were 
made in favor of poorer congregations. There was no 



*Goebel, II., 118-9. 



302 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



distinction made between the ministers and the elders in 
the church courts. They spoke of each other as brother- 
ministers and brother-elders. The president was elected 
at each meeting, and as such held the office of inspector 
until the next meeting. Ever since 1674 they had the 
custom, on the Sabbath before the meeting of a classis 
or synod, of having special prayer for it in the churches. 
The government of this Church was so throughly pres- 
byterian that Olevianus said he envied it. The elder 
was the equal of the minister, except in the administra- 
tion of the sacraments and preaching. But if the min- 
ister was hindered from coming, as he often was, in the 
unsettled state of the country, the elder conducted the 
service of singing, prayer, catechization, reading of the 
Bible, and sermon. Free prayer was especially permit- 
ted, only they were required not to make a long intro- 
duction to the prayers. The elder assisted the minister 
in visiting the sick of the congregation before the com- 
munion. Often a special person was appointed as a 
comforter of the sick, as is now the custom in the Dutch 
churches. This Church was very strict in its discipline, 
disciplining its members for dancing, Sabbath-breaking, 
attending shooting-matches and carousals. It was espe- 
cially severe against any return to papist ceremonies. 
No members were allowed to go to a grave, where a 
cross was carried. No cross was allowed to be erected 
in a Reformed graveyard ; so great was their horror of 



CUSTOMS OF THE RHENISH CHURCH. 303 



crosses. No carpenter dared to make a Catholic cross, 
or work on a Catholic church. Marriage with unbe- 
lievers was forbidden. Baptism and marriage in an 
empty church, without the presence of a congregation, 
was not considered proper, according to Reformed ideas, 
" which knew no altar or outward sanctuary."* 
Through this strict discipline, morality reigned and 
prosperity came. Even when they were persecuted, 
they prospered. In Julich and Berg the Reformed 
were shut out from all public positions, because of their 
religion. But the Reformed laid hold of the commerce, 
and laid the foundations of the great trade along the 
lower Rhine, which is still in the hands of the Re- 
formed at Elberfeld and Barmen. In their church life 
there was a sharp distinction between the ' converted* and 
* unconverted/ between the Christians and the world. 
This distinction continues until this day along the lower 
Rhine.f The Reformed believed in personal experience 
and a change of heart. They laid great stress on in- 
ward piety. This depth of personal piety in the six- 
teenth century prepared the Church to receive the pie- 
tism of the seventeenth century. Although the Church 
was afterwards united with the state, and members 
were received into the Church by birth, and not by pro- 
fession, as at first ; still the Church never lost this char- 

♦Goebel, II., 122. 

fSee Autobiography of Krummacher, page 111. 



304 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

acteristic of personal religious experience. The lower 
Rhine Reformed Church was always a pietistic Church. 
When the different synods were united by Brandenberg, 
in 1611, and even before that time, dissensions arose 
between the large open or public churches and the se- 
cret private churches. The latter had been called 
i churches of the cross,' and had worshipped in private 
houses. The former were the large national churches, 
having church buildings granted them by the city au- 
thorities. But, although the latter were the stronger in 
number, the former were the stronger in piety ; and 
they complained of the looseness of discipline in the 
public national churches. Thus the secret church of 
Cologne in 1598 complained that the open Duisburg 
church received some at communion, whom they had 
disciplined. The first general synod in 1610 tried to 
mollify the dissensions between these two kinds of 
churches within its borders; and the strife was checked. 
The deep personal piety of the secret churches found an 
opportunity, to penetrate with their strong leaven, the 
worldly formal Christians of the open churches. Even 
before this general synod, some of the rigid members 
did not want to commune with all the members of the 
open churches. So the synod of Berg, in 1597, granted 
permission to one of its congregations to have a separate 
communion service for those of its members who would 
not commune with the congregation ; because they 



SYNOD OF BENTHEIM. 



305 



thought certain persons in it were not fit to come to the 
Lord's table. " And in case some one's conscience is 
not yet satisfied, the free-willed Christians shall have 
a preparatory service on a certain day by the pastor, and 
shall together hold the Lord's supper by themselves."* 
This was the beginning of the ecclesiola in ecclesia, of 
conventicles in the congregations of the Reformed 
Church, an ecclesiastical recognition of the "converted" 
in the congregation. 

Bentheim and Tecklenberg. 

Another stronghold of the Reformed faith was found 
in Bentheim and Tecklenberg, two counties north of 
Cologne. Count Arnold II. of Bentheim introduced the 
Reformed doctrines into his land of Bentheim-Steinfurt- 
Tecklenberg-Rheda. His mother, as early as 1574, had 
introduced them into the county of Tecklenberg, and he 
followed her example. Count Arnold had been edu- 
cated under Reformed influences at Herborn, Heidel- 
berg and Utrecht. He had also been a pupil of John 
Sturm at Strasburg. He came fully under the influence 
of the Reformed Church'* by marrying a Reformed 
princess, the Countess of Nuenar. By this marriage he 
greatly enlarged his territory, and also gained the Re- 
formed faith. In 1582, at the death of his mother, he 
assumed the control of his land. In 1583, he called 



*Goebel, II., 73. 



306 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Kemmener as pastor, who administered the Lord's sup- 
per after the Reformed fashion, on the fifth of Decem- 
ber, in the castle chapel of Bentheim. A few weeks 
later, he commissioned Kemmener to purge his churches 
of all altars, pictures of saints, and the like. He was 
greatly supported in his work by his Councillor, John 
of Munster. In 1587 he gathered the ministers of 
Schuttorf, Tecklenberg and Northeim, and his highest 
officials at Tecklenberg, so as to arrange for a thorough 
introduction of the Reformed faith. In 1604 a General 
Synod was held at Schuttorf, composed of the ministers 
of the counties of Bentheim, Tecklenberg and Steinfurt. 
It throughly organized the congregations by the ap- 
pointment of boards of elders or presbyteries in each 
congregation. At the close of this first General Synod,' 
the count made an address full of earnest devotion, ex- 
horting the synod to continue in its good work. He 
also founded a Reformed gymnasium at Schuttorf in 
1589, which was afterwards removed to Burg Steinfurt. 



CHAPTER III. — SECTION V. 



Re-introduction of the Reformed Faith into the Palatinate 
by Prince Casimir, 1583—92. 

We now return to the Palatinate again. When 
Elector Lewis died, in 1583, he did not deprive Prince 
Casimir of the position as guardian of his nine-year-old 
son, Frederick. But, being afraid that Casimir might 
influence his son to go over to the Reformed faith, he 
appointed, as co-guardians with him, Duke Lewis of 
Wurtemberg, Landgrave William of Hesse, and Mar- 
grave George Frederick of Bran den berg. Prince Casi- 
mir was in camp at Deutz, opposite Cologne, fighting 
for Elector Gebhard, when he heard of his brother 
Lewis' death. He at once hastened to Heidelberg, to 
assume the guardianship of the young prince. This he 
could do without waiting for the other princes appointed 
by Lewis, as the gold bull or law of the empire gave 
the guardianship of a child to the nearest relative. And 
Elector Frederick III., the boy's grandfather, had also, 
unknown to Lewis, left a testament, appointing Casimir 
the guardian in case of the death of Lewis before the 
boy was of age. The wise Frederick III. foresaw 
what actually took place, and provided for it. " Lewis 



308 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

will not do it, Fritz will," was his prophecy, now about 
to be fulfilled. 

But, of course, the Lutherans raised a great outcry 
against Casimir's sole guardianship. Casimir, however, 
was master of the situation ; for u possession is nine 
points of the law." He knew that, if they contested his 
right, by the time the case had taken its weary way 
through a German imperial court, Frederick would 
probably be of age, before it would be settled. At any 
rate, by the time it was decided, the young prince, if not 
of age, would have been thoroughly trained up in the 
Reformed faith. Thus the want of respect, which 
Lewis showed to his father, (when he would not visit 
him before his death,) recoiled against Lewis. For Cas- 
imir paid no more attention to Lewis' wishes than 
Lewis had done to his father's. Casimir at once pro- 
ceeded to educate young Frederick in the Reformed 
faith, by dismissing his Lutheran instructors, and giv- 
ing him Reformed teachers instead. The Lutherans, in 
retaliation, brought up charges that Casimir was a se- 
vere and harsh guardian to the boy. These charges 
were probably not true ; for Frederick always showed 
the greatest love and respect for Casimir's memory, 
which he would not have done, if Casimir had been an 
unkind guardian to him. Prince Casimir again intro- 
duced the Reformed faith into the Palatinate. The 
great mass of the people had remained Calvinistic under 



RE-INTRODUCTION OF REFORMED FAITH. 309 

Elector Lewis' Lutheran reign. The Reformed were in 
the majority, except around the Elector's court at Hei- 
delberg, and along the borders of Wurtemberg. Casi- 
mir, therefore, found it an easy matter to re-introduce 
the Reformed faith. His course in doing so was in di- 
I rect contrast with the severe measures of his brother 
Lewis, in 1577, when he introduced the Lutheran faith. 
Lewis had driven out all the Reformed ministers. But 
Casimir did not drive out all the Lutherans. Casimir 
introduced the idea of religious liberty, and the Luther- 
ans were allowed their right to worship, provided they 
did not rail against the Reformed as heretics. When a 
number of the Reformed people of Heidelberg, (who 
had had no Reformed service for eight years,) petitioned 
that St. Peter's or the Franciscan church be given them 
for worship, Casimir granted their request. His court 
preacher, Tossanus, whom he had brought with him 
from Neustadt, and who still smarted under his expul- 
sion by Lewis, wanted Casimir to give to the Reformed 
the church of the Holy Ghost, the largest in the city. 
But Casimir did not grant Tossanus' request. He still 
allowed the Lutherans the largest church in Heidelberg. 
And he ordered Ehem to announce to the people that 
the church of the Holy Ghost should remain Lutheran. 
He arranged a conference between the Lutherans and 
the Reformed, so as to harmonize them. But nothing 
came out of it. The Lutherans were ordered to abstain 



310 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

from polemics and from calling the Reformed heretics 
from their pulpits. But they would not do this. Al- 
though Casimir had not persecuted one-tenth as much as 
Lewis had done even in the first month of his reign, yet 
the Lutherans raged against him violently from their 
pulpits. Even the Lutheran court preacher in the court 
chapel used an offensive comparison between Casimir 
and the treasonable King of Judah. Men like Ehem 
and Tossanus, who had been banished by Lewis in 
1577, were burning with a desire to get some revenge, 
for the injuries they had suffered. But Casimir held 
these Reformed zealots back. Still the Lutherans railed 
against him and the Reformed. So, finally, he dismissed 
the court preachers, Paul and John Schecksius, super- 
intendent Patiens and others. But there were still five 
Lutheran preachers left in Heidelberg, more than 
enough for the small Lutheran community there. Cas- 
imir then sought to have another conference, so as to 
unite all parties. For this purpose he secured the ser- 
vices of the learned Gryneus from Basle, to conduct the 
discussion for the Reformed ; while Marbach entered 
the lists for the Lutherans. The whole court was pres- 
ent. The conference turned out to be only an eight day 
word-fight; and both sides claimed the victory. It only 
made the strife worse. So Casimir saw there was only 
one way to settle the strife ; and that was for one of the 
parties to go away. So he dismissed the Lutheran 



RE-INTRODUCTION OF HEID. CATECHISM. 311 

preachers, although the Lutheran catechism was allowed 
to be used in the Neckar school, provided the Lutheran 
students sometimes attended Reformed service. Then 
the whole Reformed church order of 1563, published by 
his father, Elector Frederick III., was re-introduced. 
The Heidelberg Catechism was also re-introduced, in 
1585. The Formula of Concord was put out of sight, 
as the Heidelberg Catechism rose in honor. Thus the 
revenges of history came back. The Lutherans did not 
think of comparing the removal of their preachers at 
this time with the removal of the Reformed in 1577. 
Casirnir's course was much milder than Lewis' had been. 
His dismissals were slower. Casimir found it easy to 
introduce Reformed doctrines, for it was not the forcing 
of a new faith on the people, as Lewis had done ; but it 
was giving the people, who were still Reformed, an op- 
portunity to worship God according to the dictates of 
their own consciences. 

Casimir had a smaller catechism prepared and 
printed in 1585, an abstract of the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism ; only simplified and made more popular. It 

1 was intended for the uneducated adults and for half- 

I 

grown children. Casimir also caused a church visi- 
tation to be made throughout the land. This revealed 
great ignorance on the part of the people. Very few 
knew the main points of the catechism. Adult men, in 
the Lord's prayer, said ' deliver us from the kingdom/ 



312 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



instead of * deliver us from evil/ In the creed they 
said ' ponsified under Pilate/ instead of buffered under 
Pontius Pilate/ Thus Prince Casimir thoroughly re- 
converted the Palatinate to the Reformed faith. 

But the strife, while it ended in the Palatinate, did 
not cease outside of it. Pareus printed Luther's Bible, 
and happened to leave out some of Luther's comments, 
which expressed his peculiar views. This raised a 
storm among the Lutherans, who so highly revered 
Luther's words. Jacob Andrea, who considered Cal- 
vinism and Jesuitism as being the same, wrote a letter 
to the young Elector Frederick (which was very severe 
against the Reformed), trying to influence him from 
the Reformed to the Lutheran faith. Pareus answered 
the attacks made on him by the high Lutherans, and 
there was a great theological controversy. 

Meanwhile the legal question of the guardianship of 
the young Elector was taking its slow way through the 
German courts. The more Casimir re-introduced the 
Reformed faith into the Palatinate, the more did the 
Lutheran guardians threaten to depose him from his 
position as executor. The Duke of Wurtemberg went 
so far as to deliberate with Landgrave William of Hesse 
about raising an army against Casimir. But Casimir, 
old soldier that he was, would not allow such trifling ; 
and he very decidedly gave Wurtemberg to understand 
that she must mind her own business, or he would take 



REIGN OF CASIMIR. 



313 



up the sword against her. This quieted Wurtemberg. 
Meanwhile the case of the guardianship of Frederick 
pursued its sleepy course through the German courts, 
until finally the imperial decree was issued in 1589, six 
years after the death of Lewis, The decree was against 
Casimir and in favor of the Lutheran guardians, and 
urged that the young prince Frederick should be given 
over to the Lutheran administrators. But the decree 
could not be enforced. The prince and the Palatinate 
people were devoted to Casimir; and he ruled as safely 
three years after the decision of the court, as he had 
done six years before. 

During Casimir's reign, on the second of March, 
1586, a very important conference was held at Mum- 
pelgard, in Wurtemberg. Although this conference 
did not take place within Palatinate territory ; yet it 
was such an important event in Reformed church hist- 
ory, that we note it here. At this conference under 
Beza of Geneva, the doctrine of predestination was, for 
the first time, acknowledged or treated as a peculiar 
doctrine of the Reformed Church, over against the Lu- 
theran. Although the early reformers of the Lutheran 
Church were all predestinarians, yet the Lutheran 
Church now gave it up. It took Melancthon's syner- 
gism, but refused his doctrine of the sacraments. Here- 
after the Reformed were predestinarian, the Lutherans 
a 1 1 ti- pred est i n ar ia n . 
21 



314 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Under Casimir' s rule, the university and the schools 
of the Palatinate again resumed their former prosperity. 
He was deeply interested in the French Reformed, and 
gave them the cloister church, where they worshipped 
under Jean De La Chasse. 

Through Casimir and Calvinism the Palatinate came 
into close union with the other Reformed states of Hol- 
land, Switzerland and England. But none of the Ger- 
man states, except Hesse and Anhalt, joined the Prot- 
estant Union, until Elector Christian I. of Saxony, who 
was friendly to Calvinism, joined this union of nations, 
which was formed against the Catholic League.* But 
Elector Christian I. of Saxony, the brother-in-law of 
Casimir, died, and that broke up the alliance among 
the German states. Soon after, Casimir himself died, 
January 6, 1592. Had Casimir lived, the Reformed 
would have been stronger in numbers and influence; and 
the Reformed of France, with whom he sympathized 
and whom he helped, would have been saved many per- 
secutions. He was a good ruler; his religious life, 
however, being colored by his character as a soldier. 
He was an able administrator, a fine general and a kind 
relative To his efforts, the Reformed Churches owe a 
great deal ; for he was their standard-bearer in Germany 
in their time of weakness. 



*The ultimate result of the formation of these two opposing 
unions or leagues was the Thirty Years' War. 



CHAPTER III— SECTION VI. 



Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate and his Reign, 
1592-1610. 

Elector Frederick IV., the only surviving son of 
Elector Lewis, was born at Am berg, on the fifth of 
March, 1574. His early teachers were intense Luther- 
ans. They aimed to make him a strict adherent of the 
Formula of Concord. They compelled him to learn and 
to pray by the hour and the minute. But they thus 
stultified the free development and play of his boyish 
faculties. When his father died in his ninth year, and 
his uncle Casimir took charge of him, the methods of ed- 
ucation were improved. Casimir stopped this mechanical 
training of the boy, and strove to develop his latent tal- 
ents, especially in the direction of statesmanship. Fred- 
erick liked this kind of training better than the training 
of his father's early instructors. Casimir dismissed the 
Lutheran teachers and raised him under Reformed influ- 
ences. When, after having been under his uncle's con- 
trol for nine years, Casimir suddenly died, it was a sad 
and painful experience to the young prince. For it threw 
all the responsibility of ruling the Palatinate on his 



316 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



young head and shoulders ; he was not as yet of age — not 
quite eighteen years old. His uncle and guardian had 
hardly died, when his troubles began. Casirnir was not 
yet buried, when Frederick's great uncle, the brother of 
Elector Frederick III., Count Eichard of Simmern, 
claimed the right to be administrator of the boy. For 
he still lacked six weeks of being eighteen years of age. 
Count Richard, who was a sort of busybody among the 
Palatinate princes, (for he had before interfered with 
Frederick III. in his introduction of the Reformed doc- 
trines into the Upper Palatinate ; he had interfered with 
Casirnir when he tried to bring the Palatinate back to 
the Reformed faith, after the death of Lewis), now again 
attempted to interfere with Frederick IV. He claimed 
that, as he was the nearest relative to the young prince, 
he ought to be his guardian during the remaining six 
weeks of his minority. Count Richard came to Heidel- 
berg, nine days after Casimir's death, with a retinue of 
forty or fifty followers, and claimed his right to act as 
guardian. He not only claimed it because Frederick 
was not yet eighteen ; but he said the gold bull or law 
of Emperor Sigismund made the age of maturity to be 
twenty-five years, and he wanted to rule Frederick for 
seven years. But these efforts of Count Richard only 
embittered Frederick against the Lutherans. Frederick 
replied that the gold bull of Sigismund had never been 
adopted by the German government or promulgated 



FKEDERICK VI. A CALVINIST. 



317 



through the German empire, and that he would be of age 
at 18, aud did not need a guardian for the time that inter- 
vened. Finally, after ten days of heated debate, Count 
Richard went away. But after he had gone, he made as 
much trouble for Frederick as he possibly could, by his 
efforts and influence. He succeeded in preventing Fred- 
erick from being invested with his electorate until 1594. 
His whole aim seems to have been to introduce Luther- 
anism into the Palatinate, or at least to frighten the young 
prince into Lutheranism. Indeed, it was hoped by many 
that, now that Frederick was removed from, the Re- 
formed influence of Casimir, he would declare himself a 
Lutheran and an adherent of the Formula of Concord. 
The Duke of Wurtemberg and the Elector of Branden- 
berg wrote to Frederick so as to influence him to Luth- 
eranism. But the action of Richard hindered rather 
than -helped their cause. Frederick's answer cut off all 
hope that he would be a Lutheran. He declared that he 
would cling to his Bible and to his Calvinism. And 
back of him, too, stood the Reformed states of Holland 
and England to support him. Queen Elizabeth of Eng- 
land showed great zeal and interest for his protection. 
She even sent to the Elector of Saxony and complained 
against the interference of the Lutherans in Frederick's 
case. She advised them, if they knew what was best for 
them, not to persecute the Reformed, but keep in har- 
mony and unity with them. Thus by acknowledging 



318 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

his Reformed faith, Frederick fulfilled the prophecy his 
grandfather Frederick III. made, when the boy was two 
years old, " Lewis will not do it, Fritz will do it." 

Frederick had the same difficulty with the Upper 
Palatinate that all the Reformed princes had. Casimir 
had clung to the idea of his father that that land might 
be converted to the Reformed faith. So, soldierlike, he 
went about it by force to accomplish his purposes. Find- 
ing he could not convert it from Lutheranism, he en- 
deavored to draw it from the high Lutheranism of the 
Formula of Concord, and make it Melancthonian, like 
Nuremberg and Hesse. Frederick IV. now followed in 
the footsteps of Casimir, and tried to introduce the Re- 
formed faith into the Upper Palatinate. But the inhab- 
itants resisted and even raised a riot, in 1592. The Up- 
per Palatinate joined its efforts with Count Richard, to 
prevent Frederick from being invested with the Elector- 
ate. Finally Frederick had to do what all his prede- 
cessors had done before him, — grant the Upper Palati- 
nate free exercise of its Lutheran faith. 

What Casimir had been able to do only partially in 
his brief reign, Frederick now completed. He thorough- 
ly introduced the Reformed faith and government 
throughout his realm. The synods and classes organ- 
ized by his grandfather, were as far as possible held 
again. The synods did not get fully under way, but 
classes met regularly under the supervision of a mem- 



FREDERICK IV. A STATESMAN. 



319 



ber of the consistory. A thorough church visitation was 
carried on throughout all the Palatinate. Efforts were 
also made by his theologians to unite the Lutherans and 
the Reformed. David Pareus, one of his most prominent 
theologians, took up the work, begun by Bucer half a 
century before, and aimed at organic union between the 
two denominations. Pareus wrote his Irenicum, in 
which he aimed to bring out the points of unity between 
the Lutherans and the Reformed, rather than their differ- 
ences. This was the first work published on the union 
of different denominations. It forestalled the union of 
the Reformed and Lutheran Churches in Germany at the 
beginning of this century, and began to prepare the way 
for the ultimate organization of the Evangelical Alliance 
in this century. But the high Lutherans of the six- 
teenth century opposed any effort at union ; so his labors 
were fruitless. Frederick, as he saw he could not gain 
theological unity, determined to secure political unity. 
He thus became the political leader of the Reformed 
Church, as his grandfather, Frederick III., had been its 
theological leader. He greatly felt the need of political 
unity. The Catholic Church, since the Council of Trent 
and the rise of the Jesuits, had renewed her youth and 
strength. And as the danger from the Catholics in- 
creased, Frederick entered into closer union with King 
Henry IV. of France, Queen Elizabeth of England, and 
the states of Holland. He also aimed to bring all the 
Protestant princes of Germany, Lutheran as well as 



320 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Reformed, into the alliance, so as to offset the growing 
power of the Catholic league. He thus began a politi- 
cal movement, which ultimately culminated in the Thir- 
ty Years' War. The formation of this Protestant Union 
was a tremendous undertaking, too much for a twenty- 
year-old boy to fully grasp. Now for the first time 
Protestantism became a political power in Europe against 
the Catholics. In the Union Frederick took the fore- 
most position among the Protestant nobles of Germany. 
"He thus opened the way for his house, either to highest 
fame or lowest fall." But the Lutheran opposition or in- 
difference in Germany lessened the power of the Union. 
This was very unfortunate, as it weakened the Protest- 
ants against the Catholics, and made them weak for the 
Thirty Years 7 War. Frederick also aimed to spread the 
Union by introduciug the Reformed faith into as many 
lands as possible. It was introduced into the neighbor- 
ing county of Zweibrucken, and also into Baden-Dur- 
laeh. Through his influence, the Duke of Anhalt, who 
married his cousin, introduced the Reformed faith into 
his duchy near Berlin ; and thus the Reformed faith 
found an entrance into Eastern Germany, where it was 
so bitterly opposed, as a heresy savoring of Mohammed- 
anism. In Hesse Cassel, the new Landgrave Maurice 
also introduced the Reformed faith. The result of this 
was, that Frederick's influence became so powerful that 
some of the Lutheran nobles joined the Union. Every- 
thing seemed to favor this Protestant Alliance. But an 



DEATH OF FREDERICK IV. 



321 



apple of discord was thrown into the Protestant camp, 
by the death of the Duke of Julich-Cleve and Berg. 
Three Protestant German Princes then came forward to 
claim this duchy, Brandenberg, Pfalz-Neuberg and Sax- 
ony. When the Archduke Leopold entered Julich with 
a Spanish army to conquer it, all Germany was aroused 
against him. The Emperor, however, by favoring the 
claims of Saxony for this duchy, hoped to gain the 
drunken Elector Christian II. of Saxony to his side. 
Everything now favored the Protestants in their oppo- 
sition to the Emperor and the Spaniards. France had 
united with them to overthrow the Hapsburg house of 
Austria. King Henry of France wrote, that by the 20th 
of May, 1610, he would cross the border of Germany 
with his army. The house of Hapsburg was falling to 
pieces and Catholicism was weakened by discontent. 
But just at this grand crisis, which would have placed 
Europe in the power of the Protestants, King Henry IV. 
of France was assassinated, May 14, 1610, by Ravaillae. 
This was the first illustration of the teachings of the 
Jesuits, that it was right to murder bad kings. "The 
end justifies the means." On the day that Julich was 
attacked, the Catholic League invested Elector Christ- 
ian II. of Saxony with the right to Julich territory. 
This made Saxony hostile to the Protestant Union and 
weakened it. Just then, at this critical time, Elector 
Frederick IV. died, September 19, 1610. Thus the 
golden opportunity for Protestantism was lost. Both 



322 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



the Catholic League and the Protestant Union finally 
agreed to lay down arms, and submit to arbitration. 
And the Thirty Years' War was postponed till eight 
years later. 

Elector Frederick IV., though a zealous Calvinist, 
lacked the simplicity of his grandfather's piety. His 
grandfather was the theological prince, his uncle Casi- 
mir the warlike prince, he was the diplomatic prince of 
the Reformed of Germany. He was fonder of amuse- 
ments, of the chase and of architecture than his prede- 
cessors. In the first year of his reign, the famous Rit- 
terhaus, just opposite the church of the Holy Ghost, was 
built. It was built by a French Reformed architect, 
Belier of Tourney, one of the refugees, and was modeled 
after the Otto Henry's building in the castle. It has 
survived two conflagrations. Frederick also built the 
northern part of the castle, the Fredericksbau, in which 
is a beautiful chapel. Over the entrance to the chapel 
was the inscription in Hebrew and Latin : " The gate of 
the Lord into which the righteous shall enter." He also 
founded the city of Manheim, at the junction of the 
Neckar and the Rhine, which was destined to play such 
an important part in the future history of the Palatinate. 
A terrible storm at its founding foreboded, according to 
superstition, the terrible destruction of Manheim in later 
wars. Frederick greatly aided the cause of education 
in the Palatinate and brought his Electorate to a fore- 
most position among German states. 



CHAPTER III. — SECTION VII. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Zweibruecken. 

Zweibriicken was one of the counties belonging to 
the Palatinate princes. Next to the Electoral Palati- 
nate, it was the most important of the Palatinate prov- 
inces. Count John I. of Zweibrucken was a very zealous 
Lutheran ; and in spite of the intercession of his cousin, 
Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate, he tried to 
banish all Zwinglians from his land. The particular 
event that turned Count John toward the Reformed 
faith, was the publication of the Formula of Concord 
and its attempted introduction into his land. Zwei- 
brucken, like the rest of the Palatinate, was originally 
Melancthonian. When the Formula of Concord, with 
its high Lutheranism, was brought to it, it was met by 
opposition. The minister at Zweibrucken, Heilbron, 
who was a high Lutheran, argued in favor of the intro- 
duction of the Formula of Concord. But Pantaleon Can- 
didus, the superintendent of all the churches and the 
successor of the ill-fated Flinsbach, opposed the Form- 
ula. Still, under the influence of Marbach, the prince 
became more favorable to the Formula. He gathered 



324 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



his ministers to a conference in 1577, and they approved 
of the Formula of Concord. Bat this was hardly done, 
before a reaction took place. Candidus and Chancellor 
Schnebel led. the opposition to it. 

They took courage, when they heard that Prince 
Casimir of the Palatinate, and Landgrave William of 
Hesse, as well as the states of Anhalt and Holstein, had 
refused to subscribe to it. At a conference at Kirkl, in 
November, 1579, the majority of the ministers, led by 
Pantaleon Candidus, pronounced against the Formula 
of Concord. A deputation were then sent by the high 
Lutherans to the Count of Zweibrucken, to urge him to 
accept the Formula ; but it was all in vain. Heilbron, 
who, contrary to the command of the prince, would not 
abstain from preaching against the Melancthonians, was 
dismissed. Still, although the Count with his minis- 
ters decided thus against the high Lutherans, yet he did 
not at once go over to the Reformed faith, until a num- 
ber of years later. His clergy, however, felt themselves 
getting more and more out of sympathy with the Lu- 
therans of Germany, who were becoming very high in 
their Lutheranism. Candidus at length allowed the 
Reformed catechism to be used with the Lutheran. He 
also preached the Reformed doctrine of the Lord's sup- 
per. For this, his assistant, Stuys, rebelled against him, 
and refused to administer the Lord's supper with him. 
Stuys was dismissed, and Beuther and Hexamer were 



THE ZWEIBRUECKEN CATECHISM. 



325 



called to Zweibriicken. Candidus drew nearer and 
nearer to the Reformed theologians of Heidelberg. But 
it was not until 1588, that Count John finally went 
over to the Reformed faith. He did not do so, until 
he saw that there was no hope for Melancthonianism in 
Germany. He had waited so long, before taking the 
step, that the Reformed nobles looked on him with dis- 
trustful eyes. At length, having become satisfied that 
there was no hope for him from the high Lutherans, he 
proceeded to make his court and land Reformed. His 
idea was the idea of the age, "like prince, like people." 
He held that it was the prince's duty to see that his 
people had good religious training. For this purpose, 
he determined to publish a catechism. He feared to in- 
troduce the Heidelberg Catechism, because of the oppo- 
sition he might have to meet. He concluded that the 
easier way was to arrange a catechism of his own and 
introduce it in his land. So, like his relative, Elector 
Frederick III. of the Palatinate, he determined to pub- 
lish a catechism. Those Palatinate princes seem to 
have been great catechetical authors. And as Freder- 
ick's catechism committed him to the Reformed faith, 
so Count John's catechism committed him to the same 
faith. In 1588 he appointed his superintendent Can- 
didus, and Professor Hexamer and court preacher Beu- 
ther, to draft a catechism. He aimed to have a Re- 
formed catechism, only modeled in form after Lu- 



326 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ther's catechism. In it, the five heads of Christian doc- 
trine were treated as in Luther's book, but to them dis- 
cipline was added. And, as in Luther's catechism, the 
doctrine of the sacraments took up a large part of the 
book ; and this is its great difference from the other Re- 
formed catechisms. This Zweibriicken Catechism was 
published in March, 1588, and printed in German at 
Heidelberg. It had an introduction by the Count, urg- 
ing its reception by all the churches in his laod. With 
his superintendent Candidus, the prince went every- 
where in his county, trying to introduce the catechism. 
It was very generally received by the churches. 
Changes in customs were made, to make them correspond 
to the catechism, and so as to make the churches 
Reformed. Before the end of the year, Candidus 
could say i that the churches had been purged of the 
leaven of papacy/ Count John idolized his catechism, 
as Elector Frederick III. had done to his Heidelberg 
Catechism ; and he rejoiced that it received less opposition 
than the Heidelberg Catechism had received. Outside 
of Zweibriicken, this catechism was not introduced, al- 
though it received favorable notice elsewhere. In 1620 
a Herborn pastor, Exter, issued a commentary on it. 
The publication of this catechism led to a discussion be- 
tween the theologians of the Duke of Pfalz-Neuberg 
and the Zweibriicken ministers at Neuberg. The Luth- 
erans aimed to get Count John to give up his catechism. 



ZWEIBRUECKEN BECOMES REFORMED. 327 



Heilbron, the dismissed court preacher of Count John 
(who was uow the court preacher of the Duke of Pfalz- 
Neuberg), debated for the Lutherans ; while Hexamer 
and Beuther defended the catechism. This conference 
did not change Count John in the least. He went on 
and issued a church order in 1593, based on his cate- 
chism. He also received French Reformed refugees 
into his land in 1593, which greatly strengthened the in- 
fluence of the Reformed Church. His successor was 
Count John II., who had been educated at Heidelberg 
and in France under Reformed influences. Count 
John II. was a wise statesman, and became the guardian 
of Elector Frederick V. of the Palatinate, after the 
death of his father. 

The brother of Count John II. of Zweibnicken mar- 
ried the daughter of the King of Sweden ; so his 
nephew, as Charles X., became King of Sweden. Thus 
Sweden and Zweibriicken were linked together. Zwei- 
bnicken was thus brought within the pale of the Re- 
formed Church. An ineffectual attempt was made by 
Count Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach to introduce 
the Reformed faith into his territory.* But Count 
Ernest's efforts died with him, his brother George bring- 
ing back Lutheranism after his death. 

*There were two Badens at that time, Baden-Baden and 
Baden-Durlach. Durlach included the territory around the 
present city of Carlsruhe. The Duke of Baden is at present the 
successor of the Palatinate princes. Most of the Palatinate is 
now under his control. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Cen- 
tral and Eastern Germany. 

SECTION I. 

Rise and Fall of Crypto-Calvinism in Saxony. 

The beginning of the history of the Reformed 
Church in Eastern Germany was the controversy about 
Crypto-Calvinism in Saxony. Crypto-Calvinism was 
the forerunner of Calvinism in three eastern lands. 
Not fully Calvin istic itself, it yet prepared the way for 
it.* These Melancthonians were not, at first, Calvinistic. 
In 1564 the professors at Wittenberg gave an opinion 
against the Heidelberg Catechism. It was the Maulbron 

*There were three names given to the Melancthonian party 
of Lutherans— Phillipists, Synergists and Crypto-Calvinists. 
They were caller) Phillipists after the first name of Melaucthon, 
who was usually ealled Doctor Phillip. They were also called 
Synergists from Melancthon's doctrine about synergism or 
freedom of the will. They were called Crypto-Calvinists (secret 
Calvinists ) by their enemies. But Phillipists was the wide term 
for all Melancthonians, and included in it Synergists and Crypto- 
Calvinists. The name Crypto-Calvinist was applied to those 
who held the Calvinistic doctrine of the sacrament, but not of 
predestination. As we have seen, Melancthon neared Calvin's 
doctrine of the Lord's supper. Many of his followers went a 
little farther than he did, and became Calvinists. 



THE WITTENBERG CATECHISM. 329 

conference, that opened their eyes to the drift of Luth- 
eranism. They could not agree with its doctrine of 
ubiquity, as set forth there by the Wurtemberg theolo- 
gians. So Saxony joined hands with Hesse in opposing 
the high Lutherans. But in Saxony they lacked a theo- 
logical leader, who should be the successor of Melanc- 
thon. After his death, his mantle fell on his son-in-law 
Peucer. Peucer was the rector of the university at 
Wittenberg, and court physician to the Elector Augustus 
of Saxony, but he was almost as much of a doctor as he 
was a theologian. The Elector was at that time entirely 
under his control, and Peucer used this influence to fill 
the professorships at Wittenberg with Melancthonians, 
such as Pezel, the younger Cruciger, Widebram and 
Moller. A new catechism, called the Wittenberg Cate- 
chism, endorsed by the Wittenberg faculty, was pub- 
lished in 1571. It was prepared in order to oppose the 
new and rising doctrine of ubiquity. It was to be used 
in the upper classes in the schools, while Luther's cate- 
chism remained in use in the lower classes. This cate- 
chism was no new departure, for Melancthon's ' Loci 
Communes' or i Common Places' had been taught in 
the schools for years before. But this catechism caused 
a great stir. The high Lutherans at once opposed it, 
because it attacked their pet doctrine of ubiquity. Sel- 
necker attacked it as a departure from the Lutheran 
faith. The Wittenberg theologians defended it. But 
22 



330 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the Elector Augustus had faith in the Lutheran ortho- 
doxy of his professors at Wittenberg, and approved it. 
The Elector, however, to prove that his land was true 
to the Lutheran faith, called a conference of his theo- 
logians and ministers at Dresden in 1571, and desired 
them to prepare a good Lutheran doctrine of the Lord's 
supper. The decrees of this Dresden consensus were 
Melancthonian, and very decidedly attacked the high 
Lutheran doctrine of ubiquity. The Jena theologians 
of lower Saxony then attacked the Elector for having 
Calvinists in his land. This stirred up the Elector, for 
he held he was a good Lutheran. His adherence to 
the Lutheran faith was so strong that, when Cranach, 
the great painter, painted for him a picture of his Wit- 
tenberg professors, he bade him watch ; for he wanted 
no Calvinist among them. He once said that, if he 
had a Calviuistic vein iL his body, he hoped the devil 
would tear it out. 

But gradually the Elector came more and more un- 
der the influence of the high Lutherans. This change 
Was largely due to his wife, the daughter of the King 
of Denmark, who was an intense Lutheran.. He also 
had a political motive for changing to high Lutheran- 
ism. Saxony had always been the leading Lutheran 
Electorate, and the Prince of Saxony the leader among 
Lutheran princes. But he found that, through the 
opposition of the high Lutherans of North Germany, 



DISCOVERY OF CRYPTO-CALVINISM. 331 

he was fast losing his position as leader of the German 
states. So, to resume his foremost position, he felt the 
necessity of becoming a high Lutheran. And his old 
enmity to the high Lutherans of Ducal Saxony had 
now passed away. With the death of the last son of 
Count John Frederick of Ducal Saxony (the standard- 
bearer of the high Lutherans,) Augustus became the 
guardian of his two young sons, and this event inclined 
him toward high Lutheranism. He also began reading 
the books of Andrea, the high Lutheran theologian of 
Wurtemberg, and was influenced by his court-preacher, 
who sympathized with Andrea. Just then, when he 
was inclining toward high Lutheranism, an event oc- 
curred that brought matters to a crisis, and led him to 
a decision. It was the publication of a book in 1574, 
called " Exegesis of the Lord's supper." It was a post- 
humous manuscript of Cureus, and was published by 
Vogelin of Leipsig.* This book held the Calvinistic 
view of the Lord's supper (although without naming 
Calvin,) and rejected the Lutheran doctrine of mandu- 
cation, or the reception of Christ's body through the 
mouth. It also greatly praised the organization of the 
Reformed Church, and the steadfastness of the Calvin- 
ists under martyrdom. After its appearance the Elector 
of Saxony was warned against it by the Duke of Wur- 

*This book was at first supposed to have been printed at Ge- 
neva, as it was printed on French paper and first sold outside 
of Saxony. 



332 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

temberg and the King of Denmark. The book was 
popularly attributed to Peucer and his associates at 
Wittenberg. Peucer denied all knowledge of the book, 
and Vogelin under oath confirmed the innocence of the 
Wittenberg professors. Peucer says he never saw the 
book, until one was brought to him in his sickness in 
prison at Pleissenberg, years afterward. But, though 
this charge was not true, the high Lutherans used it as 
a piece of theological spite, and charged Peucer and his 
associates with being the authors. Elector Augustus, 
now thoroughly roused by these charges, influenced of 
the high Lutherans around him, and fearing a Calvin- 
istic conspiracy, ordered a visitation to be made in Wit- 
tenberg. His commission, when it visited Wittenberg, 
found many Calvinistic books at the stores and among 
the students. They also found confidential correspon- 
dence between the Wittenberg professors and the theo- 
logians of the Palatinate. The Elector then required 
the professors to state their theological position about 
Calvinism. Court preacher Schutz, Consistorial-rath 
Stossel, Rector Peucer and Chancellor Cracow were 
arrested. As Widebram, Cruciger, Pezel and Moller 
delayed stating their theological position about Calvin- 
ism, they were also placed under a strict guard of 
fifty soldiers, brought to Leipsic and placed as criminals 
in the prison at Pleissenberg. The result of these 
arrests was, that Pezel, Cruciger, Widebram and Moller 



PUNISHMENT OF CRYPTO-CALVINISTS. 333 



were banished from the country and went to Nassau. 
This complete victory of the high Lutherans was cele- 
brated in all the churches of Saxony, and prayers were 
offered against Calvinism, 

But severer penalties were visited on the other 
Crypto-Calvinists. Schutz was sentenced to a life-long 
house arrest, from which only an accident released him 
in ] 589. Cracow was tortured on the rack, so that he 
died in prison in 1575. The commandant of the fort, 
where he was imprisoned, who deigned to be merciful 
to him and furnish him with writing materials, was 
driven out of the town, after having been whipped. 
Stossel was so tormented in the fort Scuftenberg that he 
took a fever, which hastened his death. Peucer was 
sent to Rochlitz, where he was tortured on the rack and 
finally brought to the Pleissenberg prison at Leipsic. 
His wife was not permitted to see him, and she died 
soon after. Here all writing materials were taken away 
from him. He was not allowed to have any books, not 
even the Bible. Year after year, for twelve years, he 
lived in this damp, dirty prison, v/hile all the while his 
fortune was consumed and his health undermined. He 
broke down with sickness and was not expected to re- 
cover. In his sickness he asked that he might have the 
Lord's supper administered to him. But who among 
the strict orthodox ministers of Saxony would give the 
communion to one who, they thought, had so belied 



334 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

their faith ? The theologians Andrea and Selnecker vis- 
ted him in prison, and tried to convert him to Lutheran- 
ism. As he did not agree with them, he received from 
them an answer worthy of the Catholic inquisition, " that 
means would be found to make him recant, if they 
should be red hot pincers."* When they found he would 
not recant his Calvinism, they gave him, as an antidote 
for his heresy, not the Bible, but the Formula of Con- 
cord. As a German historian says : " Thus man's word 
was given to him, instead of God's word." Peucer, 
robbed of all writing materials, prepared for himself an 
ink made out of beer and burned bread-crusts. (Neces- 
sity is the mother of invention.) He plucked a quill 
from a goose's wing, which had been given to him to 
sweep away the cobwebs of his prison. And on the 
Formula of Concord which he hated, he wrote with 
this pen and ink his confession and autobiography. Ten 
years elapsed before the Elector thought of him. Then 
the Elector asked him to give him another confession 
of faith. But Peucer in this confession still remained 
true to Melancthon. While Peucer was in prison, he 
had influential friends who interceded for him, and 
tried to gain his release from prison. In 1575 Emperor 
Maximilian visited the Elector. He asked Augustus 
to release Peucer, that Peucer might become his body 
physician. Augustus refused. When the Emperor 



*Hagenbach's History of Reformation, vol. III., page 272. 



PEUCER IN PRISON. 



335 



asked him why he had imprisoned Peucer, he answered 
that he did not want any one about him who did not 
agree with him in religion. Maximilian replied : " I 
do not assume such a thing for myself, for I have no 
power over the conscience, and dare not force any one's 
belief." An noble answer from a Catholic. The Cath- 
olic was more Protestant than the Elector. For Cath- 
olic Kings and Emperors had Protestant physicians in 
those days. Ah ! Augustus forgot what he had once said 
before the Emperor at the Augsburg Diet of 1566, when 
he said of the Reformed Elector Frederick III. of the 
Palatinate : " Fritz, thou art better than all of us." 
Judging from his treatment of Peucer, he had changed 
his mind since then, and did not think the Calvinists 
were better than himself. Landgrave William of Hesse 
also interceded for Peucer, that he should be set free ; 
but in vain. In fact these intercessions of princes only 
made Peucer's lot the harder ; for Augustus thought he 
had complained to these princes, and therefore they had 
interceded for him. Finally, Peucer's great inquisi- 
tress, the Electress of Saxony, died. Before her death, 
she passed through Leipsic, on her way to the baths of 
Schwalbach. As she travelled through the town, the 
keeper of the Pleissenberg, where Peucer was impris- 
oned, asked his medical opinion about the effect of the 
baths in her case. He disapproved of the use of the 
baths at Schwalbach, saying that those who urged her 



336 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



to go there, sent her there to die. Facts proved that he 
was right. Had she accepted the service of the fore- 
most physician in her land, she might have had better 
treatment. On the night of her death, Peucer had a 
wonderful dream. He dreamt that the whole court 
passed before him in a magnificent funeral procession, 
and that he himself ran to it. But suddenly the bell- 
rope broke, and he awoke, with the words : " The rope 
is in two, and we are free." His dream seemed like a 
prophecy of his freedom. But he remained in prison 
for several months after. The Elector of Saxony, how- 
ever, married, three months after the death of his wife, 
one of the Anhalt princesses. These Anhalt princes 
had been Melancthonian, and opposed the high Luther- 
ans. 

Peucer was finally set free through the influence of 
the new Electress. The high Lutherans were very 
angry, when they heard that he was free again, after his 
twelve years 7 imprisonment. Augustus, when he first 
imprisoned Peucer, had had a medal struck off, which 
represented the Elector, with a sword in one hand and 
balances in the other ; one scale having the child Jesus 
in it, the other the four "Wittenberg professors, with the 
devil among them. Now when he released Peucer, the 
high Lutherans struck off a medal against the Elector. 
On this medal the Electoral pair were placed as Adam 
and Eve in the garden of Eden, at the time when the 



PEUCER SET AT LIBERTY. 



337 



woman reaches out the apple to the man. On the medal 
was the inscription : " At Eve's advice Adam trans- 
gressed God's law." They thus laid the blame of the 
release of Peucer on the Elector's wife, who, like Eve, 
had led him into temptation. The Elector did not live 
long after his marriage. On the day of the Elector's 
death, Peucer at last appeared, for the first time in pub- 
lic worship, at Zerbst in Anhalt. His hair had grown 
long during his imprisonment. He performed the ser- 
vices amid a flood of tears, as he thanked God that now 
he was at the end of his troubles ; and that through 
them all, his belief in God and the truth had not been 
shaken. After that, he lived in Anhalt, where he was 
court physician. But he travelled through the Palat- 
inate and Hesse, as his services were much in demand 
among the noble families of Germany. This was the 
first persecution of the Crypto-Calvinists in Saxony. 
It was the only illustration of the use of the rack and tor- 
ture in Germany on the Protestants. Sad indeed, that 
they were used by Protestants on Protestants. 

But although Calvinism was thus persecuted and 
driven out of Saxony, it again lifted up its head. The 
successor of the very Elector who so severely persecuted 
the Calvinists, was friendly to them, and inclined in 
their direction. Augustus was succeeded by his son, 
Elector Christian I. It had been prophesied by Cruci- 
ger at his trial, that Calvinism would rise again. His 



338 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

prophecy came true, although not quite so quickly as he 
said. Elector Christian was the brother-in-law of Prince 
Casimir of the Palatinate. He was Casimir's closest 
friend. Casimir, in his notes, calls him " my Christian." 
Through Casimir he was influenced to be friendly to the 
Reformed, and also to be opposed to the high Lutheran 
Formula of Concord. So, when he ascended the throne 
of Saxony, there came a reaction against the Formula of 
Concord. His chancellor, Crell, who had travelled ex- 
tensively, and had met Reformed theologians in his 
travels, also was Melancthonian. When he assumed 
control, many Melancthonian ministers were found in 
Saxony. At their head was Salmuth, the court preacher. 
An edict was issued in 1588, forbidding the ministers to 
abuse the Calvinists in their preaching. Selnecker, who 
would not obey, was dismissed from his superintendency 
at Leipsic, and a Crypto-Calvinist, Harder, was placed 
in his stead in the Nicolai church at Leipsic. Morus 
and other Lutheran ministers were dismissed, because 
they had called Crell "a masked Calvinist." Crell an- 
swered that he had never read a line of Calvin, but that 
he was a follower of Melancthon. The places left va- 
cant by these dismissals, were filled by Melancthonians. 
Court preacher Salmuth was Crell's great assistant in the 
work of driving out high Lutheranism. Salmuth, at the 
Elector's expense, published a Lutheran Bible with Me- 
lancthonian notes, in which he argued against ubiquity. 



ABROGATION OF EXORCISM. 



339 



This so-called Crell Bible, however, only reached as far 
as the second book of Chronicles, when the work was in- 
terrupted by the downfall of Crell. Subscription to the 
Formula of Concord was no longer required of the min- 
isters. Some Lutheran customs, as exorcism and can- 
dles, were dispensed with. The putting away of exor- 
cism produced the greatest stir among the people. Con- 
gregations do not notice doctrinal changes as much as 
changes in cultus and customs. This abrogation of ex- 
orcism caused a great storm. The great mass of the 
people still clung to this Catholic superstition, and be- 
lieved that without exorcism, or blowing away of the 
devil at baptism, baptism was useless. Elector Christ- 
ian had his daughter Dorothea baptized without the use 
of exorcism, to the great grief of his wife, who was a 
strong Lutheran. Many people left their children un- 
baptized, rather than have them baptized without exor- 
cism. The disuse of the rite sometimes led to violence. 
In Dresden a butcher with a hatchet followed a god- 
father, who carried his child into the church, and threat- 
ened to split open the minister's head, if he did not ex- 
orcise the child. This so frightened the minister, that 
in spite of the Elector's orders to the contrary, he used 
exorcism. In Zeitz ministers had to seek safety in flight 
from an angry mob, because they would not exorcise 
the children. At one place, as the Elector came to it, 
the superintendent and the ministers fell at his feet and 



340 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

begged to be spared the necessity of doing away with 
this rite. At another place the people shouted after the 
minister, who did not use exorcism: "The naughty 
priest has not expelled the devil." Through the influ- 
ence of Crell and prince Casimir, Elector Christian was 
led to send his troops to the aid of the persecuted Re- 
formed Huguenots of France. 

But Elector Christian I. died in 1591. At his death 
the high Lutheran party rose in power again, after five 
years of submission to the Melancthonians. The guar- 
dians of the new Elector were the Dukes of Saxe- Weimar 
and of Saxe-Altenberg, the grandsons of the late Duke 
John Frederick of Saxony (who had been the standard- 
bearer of the high Lutherans). These guardians ruled 
the court in the interest of high Lutheranism. The 
Electress, too, was a strong Lutheran. So the high Lu- 
theran party again assumed power. This showed itself 
at once. On the day of the funeral of the Elector, Crell 
and the ministers devoted to Melancthonianism, were 
arrested. The Melancthonian court-preacher was, how- 
ever, allowed to preach the funeral sermon over the dead 
Elector. Several charges were brought against Crell ; 
that he had seduced the Elector to Calvinism, mis- 
guided the affairs in the French war, and had acted 
traitorously to the Emperor. Crell was imprisoned in 
the castle of Konigstein, along the Elbe. Gunderman, 
the Leipsic preacher, was arrested and imprisoned in the 



PERSECUTION OF CALVINISTS. 341 

Pleissenberg. Only great necessity led him to sign a 
high Lutheran confession, which he afterwards repudiat- 
ed. It, however, helped him nothing, for his wife com- 
mitted suicide, and he became insane through his trouble. 

The hatred of the people against the Calvinists was 
intense. It extended even to burials. When Jacob 
Lossius of Piacenza, the Reformed court-violinist, died, 
they wanted to deny him an honorable burial, because 
he happened to be a Calvinist, and had died without 
calling in a Lutheran minister, that he might make dy- 
ing confession to him. The unfortunate body was car- 
ried out by four day laborers to the criminals' graveyard. 
But the frenzied people were not satisfied. A number 
of butcher and smith boys attacked the bearers, broke 
open the coffin, and vented on the dead body their hatred 
against Calvinism. In Leipsic matters came to a still 
worse issue. Some Swiss gave a banquet on the four- 
teenth of May, 1593, in honor of their countryman, 
Professor Huber of Wittenberg. At the table a dispute 
arose, which finally resulted in blows ; when a Lutheran 
professor made a threat that he would thrust a knife 
through Huber's body. Huber left the banquet and 
complained to the city council, but received no answer 
from them. The matter soon became common talk in 
Leipsic. Some days later handbills were scattered 
around in the market-place and university, saying : 
"Whoever has a true Lutheran heart, let him come to 



342 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the market this evening at eight o'clock, and help storrn 
the house of the Calvinist Weinhausen." The people 
assembled on the evening of the nineteenth of May be- 
fore his house in a very disorderly way. This they kept 
up until Sunday morning. Just as the bells began ring- 
ing for church, the plundering began. A beautiful pic- 
ture, by Durer, of the passion of Christ, belonging to the 
owner of the house, together with many tools, was de- 
stroyed ; and many other things were carried away as 
booty. With the stolen pans and kettles, a serenade was 
performed before the doors of the other Calvinists. 
Thus the Sabbath was kept or rather profaned by the 
angry people. The city council asked the help of the 
leading citizens to put down this mob, but they replied 
that they did not want to help any Calvinist. Then 
all was quiet for three days. During that time a list of 
the Calvinists was made up for proscription. All of the 
proscribed were ordered to leave the city by evening. 
But the Elector sent his administrator to Leipsic and ar- 
rested some of the ringleaders, and restored the Reformed 
exiles. 

Still sadder was the case of Crell, the prime minis- 
ter of Elector Christian I. He was charged with lead- 
ing the Elector over to Calvinism ; and he was also 
charged with being a traitor to the Emperor, by having 
led the Elector to join the French under Henry IV., 
against Austria. Crell claimed that he did it at the 



DEATH OF CRELL. 



343 



command of the dead Elector. But he was imprisoned 
for ten years in the castle of Konigstein. Then he was 
brought to Dresden, to be prepared for death. One of 
the city pastors, Nicolas Blume, was ordered to prepare 
Crell for death. He began doing so by making charges 
against the Calvinists. But Crell bade him cease such 
controversy, and strengthen him for death. The min- 
ister did not give up, so Crell returned no replies to 
him. Finally, when the day appointed for his execu- 
tion arrived, Crell was so sick that he had to be carried 
out on a chair, and brought before the court in his sleep- 
ing gown. But he was not allowed any justification. 
He was ordered to the scaffold, which was erected in the 
Jewish quarter at the New Market. There Crell prayed : 
" Father, who hast created me ; Jesus Christ, who hast 
redeemed me ; Holy Spirit, who hast sanctified me — I 
deliver to thee what thou gavest to me in this life, that 
thou mayest again receive it." As his head fell, the 
executioner called out to the crowd around : "This was 
a Calvinistic stroke." Thus died Crell a martyr for his 
Crypto-Calvinistic faith.* 

Thus ended Calvinism, or rather the drift toward 
Calvinism, in Saxony. After this, a Calvinist was more 
hated in Saxony than a Jew or a Mohammedan. This 
persecution drove Calvinism out of Saxony ; but it 

*The sword, with which he was beheaded, is in the histori- 
cal museum at Dresden, and has on it the inscription "Cave 
Calviniane"— " Beware, Calvinist." 



344 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



opened the eyes of men in many other parts of Ger- 
many to the fanaticism and bigotry of the high Luther- 
ans of that day. Liberal minded Christians could not 
agree to such persecution. The result was that many 
of them went over to the Reformed faith. The low 
Lutherans or Melancthonians were frightened by all 
this. They saw that there could be a Protestant inqui- 
sition as well as a Catholic one. The result was a re- 
action against high Lutheranism, and a crop of Re- 
formed conversions among the princes of Germany. 



CHAPTER IV. — SECTION II. 



Introduction of the Eeformed Faith into Anhalt and 
Lippe. 

The duchy of Anhalt was situated southwest of 
Berlin, on the northwestern borders of Saxony. It had 
become Protestant in the early days of the reformation. 
Duke George of Anhalt had been a famous lay preacher. 
But this Lutheran duchy became Reformed through its 
opposition to the Formula of Concord and high Luth- 
eranism. When the Reformed faith was introduced 
into Anhalt, the duchy had been divided into four 
parts — Bernberg, Dessau, Kotha and Zerbst. But 
Duke John George of Anhalt-Dessau acted as adminis- 
trator for his younger brothers ; and it was under his 
administration that the Reformed faith was introduced 
in 1597. 

Anhalt had always been affected by neighboring 
Saxony. It was through Luther's preaching at Wit- 
tenberg that Anhalt became Protestant. She followed 
Luther's teaching at Wittenberg until he died ; and then 
she became a devoted follower of Melancthon, who took 
Luther's place at Wittenberg. When the Formula of 
23 



346 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Concord appeared, Anhalt for the first time refused to 
follow Saxony, for she clung to Melancthonianism. Joa- 
chim Ernest, the father of the dukes of Anhalt, in 1578 
called his ministers together at Dessau, who declared 
against the Formula of Concord. Repeated efforts of 
Andrea and the neighboring Electors of Saxony and 
Brandenberg failed to make any impression on Anhalt. 
She remained opposed to the Formula of Concord. An- 
other reason that led to the introduction of the Reformed 
faith into Anhalt, was exorcism, or blowing away of 
the devil at baptism, a papal custom which was prac- 
tised by many of the high Lutherans of that day. This 
rite was the immediate cause of the conversion of An- 
halt to the Reformed faith. Amling, the superintend- 
ent of Anhalt, pastor of St. Nicolas church at Zerbst, 
was a Melancthonian. But, during the prevalence of 
the plague, which raged at intervals from 1566 till 
1582 (when he heard pious mothers lamenting over dead 
unbaptized children, from whom they thought the devil 
had not been driven out before they died), he became 
disgusted with the rite. He also frequently found that 
unbaptized children were not allowed to be buried in 
consecrated graveyards, because the devil had not been 
blown out of them by exorcism. He, therefore, was led 
to desire a form of baptism that would exclude exor- 
cism. In this he was supported by Duke John George 
and later by Peucer, who, after his release from prison 



ANHALT BECOMES REFORMED. 



347 



at Leipsic, came to Anhalt as court physician. This 
abrogation of exorcism caused a great stir among the 
people, who are more apt to cling to customs than to 
doctrine. Some of the strict Lutheran ministers were 
dismissed ; among them, John Arndt, the author of 
"True Christianity," who was displaced in 1590, because 
he said the putting away of exorcism was Calvinistic, 
and he would not give up exorcism. He went to the 
St. Martin's church, at Brunswick, where he wrote his 
famous book. This simplification of baptism led to 
a similar change in the Lord's supper, which made that 
rite Reformed. 

Another circumstance occurred, which led Anhalt 
into the Reformed Church. The Anhalt princes mar- 
ried Reformed princesses. John George married the 
daughter of Prince Casimir of the Palatinate, and Duke 
Christian of Anhalt Bernberg married one of the Count- 
esses of Bentheim. Duke Christian became governor 
of the Upper Palatinate in 1595. He thus entered the 
employment of a Reformed government. Elector Fred- 
erick V. calls him " my father." He became the 
great warrior — the great general of the Reformed 
Church — the diplomat. As early as 1596, Duke 
Christian with twelve others celebrated the Lord's sup- 
per, after the Reformed mode, in his palace in the Pa- 
latinate. And in 1597, a church order was promul- 
gated through Anhalt, making the churches Reformed. 



348 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



It ordered that the stone altars in the churches should 
be set aside, and ordinary communion tables put in 
their place. At communion seasons, but not at other 
times, this table was covered with a cloth. Broken 
bread was introduced, instead of wafers. Instead of 
the gold cup and the broad chalice, a wooden cup was 
used. The Lutheran custom of holding the cloth under 
the elements, lest any of them should fall to the ground, 
was put away. The prayer spoken over the elements, the 
singing of the words of institution in Latin at the Lord's 
supper, the making of the sign of the cross at the bene- 
diction, were all dispensed with. The communicants re- 
ceived the Lord's supper standing, instead of kneeling. 
Other things, as pictures, altars, private confessional, and 
private communion, were dispensed with. The priestly 
robes with hoods, chasubles and surplices were forbidden. 
The ministers were ordered not to turn their back to 
the congregation while praying, as if acting as interces- 
sors for the congregation, but they were to face the con- 
gregation in prayer. Baptism was performed, not from 
a font, but from a basin.* 

These changes, of course, made a great stir, outside 
and inside of Anhalt. The deputies or civil authorities 
of Anhalt opposed this change of faith j while all around 
Anhalt, from Saxony and Brandenberg, the opposition 

*Zahn, das Gute Recht des Reformirten Bekenutnisses in 
Anhalt, page 21. 



OPPOSITION IN ANHALT. 



349 



became very great. Indeed, the neighboring princes of 
Saxony became so bitter that they threatened to with- 
draw their friendship and commerce from Anhalt, if 
she did not give up her Reformed heresies. But An- 
halt answered that the Lord would take care of her ; 
and so he did. The land bloomed and flourished, in 
spite of it all. 

In this introduction of the Reformed faith, Duke 
John George was the leader, but he was supported in it 
by his brothers. Among the people there was a good 
deal of opposition to these changes from the Lutheran 
faith. Many of them went to neighboring Saxony to 
worship. At Worlitz, the women, led by a noble lady, 
went to the church, had a hole made in the altar, and 
filled it with powder. They caused it to be known that 
when the soldiers entered the church, to take away the 
altar, so as to place a Reformed communion table there, 
they would blow up themselves and the altar into the 
air. The women came off victorious, of course ; and the 
soldiers of the Duke went away without introducing the 
Reformed faith into that church. The princes of An- 
halt filled their pulpits with Reformed ministers from 
the Palatinate, or with Crypto- Calvinists fleeing from 
Saxony. These new Reformed pastors had some strange 
experiences. Sometimes a wheel or a gallows was 
painted on their church doors ; or mocking songs were 
sung about them. 



350 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



In 1599, a church order was issued which com- 
pleted the introduction of the Reformed faith into the 
land. The Heidelberg Catechism was introduced in- 
stead of Luther's. The Anhalt Confession of 1579, 
which was merely a deliverance against the Formula of 
Concord, was not the official church creed ; but the 
Heidelberg Catechism became the symbol of Anhalt. 
Their Calvinism was at first tinged with Melancthoni- 
anism. The Church was not considered, by the Hol- 
landers, quite orthodox enough to be invited to the 
synod of Dort. But gradually stricter Calvinism was in- 
troduced. Wendeliu, the rector of Zerbst gymnasium, 
brought in the doctrine of predestination. Thus An- 
halt became the banner nation of the Reformed faith in 
Eastern Germany, by leading the way for its introduc- 
tion into the east as well as in the west. What had been 
attempted in Saxony and failed, now succeeded in An- 
halt. Through her influence, other lands in Eastern 
Germany became Reformed, as Brandenberg and Lieg- 
nitz. Although Anhalt was only a small duchy, yet 
her influence was felt far and wide. Duke Christian of 
Anhalt Bernberg became one of the leaders of his age. 
The- mantle of Prince Casimir of the Palatinate seemed 
to have fallen on him. He was one of the great Prot- 
estant generals, and a leader of the Reformed troops at 
the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. Anhalt 
Zerbst finally went back to Lutheranism again, because 



LIPPE BECOMES REFORMED. 



351 



its prince was raised by a Lutheran mother. But Des- 
sau and Bernberg remained Reformed. 

The County of Lippe. 

Lippe is a county situated north of Hesse. It re- 
ceived the Reformed doctrine a little later than Anhalt. 
Lippe had been Lutheran. But Count Simon VI., 
left an orphan at nine years of age, happened to have 
for his teacher a Melancthonian, Thodenus. He was 
also influenced by his governor, Christopher of Donop, 
who was a Melancthonian. He studied at Strasburg 
and was influenced toward the Reformed faith by John 
Sturm. He married into the family of Hesse, which 
made him all the more liberal in his Lutheranism. All 
these influences inclined him to the Reformed faith. In 
1600, he began to introduce the Reformed doctrine and 
customs into his land. He invited Reformed ministers 
to his churches, and made Dreckmeier General Superin- 
tendent. Altars, candles, and priestly robes were all 
put away from the churches. At first every congrega- 
tion objected to these changes. But he persevered 
firmly and quietly ; and gained the victory. Lemgo 
alone refused all efforts to make it Reformed, until in 
1610 it was allowed to remain Lutheran. Simon VI. 
founded a school at Detmold, in order to train up stud- 
ents in the Reformed faith. Lippe has since become a 
stronghold of the Reformed faith in Germany. 



CHAPTER IV. — SECTION III. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Hesse. 

Meanwhile a silent preparation was taking place in 
Hesse, preparing it for transition to the Reformed Church. 
Hesse never forgot Zwingli's influence at the Marburg 
Conference in 1529. The Wittenberg Concord, arranged 
by Bucer, was the true expressson of Hessian theology. 
After his death she became Melancthonian. Indeed 
some of her ministers had been Reformed, as Hyperius. 
The Hessian Church, at the beginning of the seventeenth 
century, was a curious combination. It followed Bucer 
in doctrine, Melancthon in cultus, Calvin in church gov- 
ernment. 

Landgrave Philip died in 1567. He was buried in 
the choir of St. Martin's church at Cassel ; where a fine 
monument, reaching to the vault of the choir, made of 
black marble with white reliefs and profuse gilding, rep- 
resenting Christ's resurrection, marks his tomb. Land- 
grave Philip was the most daring and farsighted of the 
German princes of his day. He saw what no other Ger- 
man prince of his day saw, — that a union of the Prot- 
estant states of Germany was a necessity to the success 



DIVISION OF HESSE. 



353 



of their cause. After his death, Hesse began to decline 
in influence. His sons did not inherit his sagacity. And 
he weakened his land by dividing it among his four sons. 
Still he stipulated that, while each reigned in his own 
land, yet they must act in concert on all political and 
religious questions. William, his oldest son, received 
Lower Hesse or Hesse Cassel, which contained about 
half of the whole land. William thus, because of his 
age, and also because of the size of his territory, was the 
leader of the brothers. Lewis received Upper Hesse 
around Marburg. This division of the land will explain 
much of the future church history of Hesse. 

A general synod of all the churches in Hesse was 
held yearly, the first being held at Cassel in 1568.* 
But a difference in religious views very soon began to 
show itself between William of Lower Hesse and Lewis 
of Upper Hesse. William remained in his father's faith, 
a Melancthonian ; while Lewis became a high Lutheran. 
Lewis was led toward high Lutheranism by his marriage 
with a Wurtemberg princess, who swayed him in that 
direction. This difference between the brothers first ap- 
peared in the publication of a church order in 1572. It 
was printed at Marburg, under the direction of Lewis. 
William charged Lewis with making some unauthorized 
changes in it, in the interest of high Lutheranism ; as for 

*This synod, when held at Cassel, met in the court of justice, 
probably in the hall of the sessions of the court. At Marburg 
it met in some room in the north wing of the castle, near the 
saloon. 



354 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



instance, when it said that the words of institution at the 
Lord's supper were to be 'sung' instead of 'read/ The 
next difference that appeared, was in 1575, about the use 
of Hyperius' catechism, which was Calvinistic. This 
catechism had been used in the higher classes of schools, 
but had now been put out of the gymnasium at Mar- 
burg by Lewis, so as to get Luther's catechism in. Then 
came the election of Hunnius as professor at Marburg, 
which capped the climax. Hunnius was a high Luther- 
an, and was brought to Marburg through the interven- 
tion of the wife of Lewis. He came into Hesse for the 
express purpose of making that land high Lutheran. 
Of course, Landgrave William and Hunnius soon came 
to daggers 7 points. The next step in this religious his- 
tory of Hesse was the publication of the Formula of 
Concord. In 1577, the Electors of Saxony and Bran- 
denberg wrote to William, asking him to sign the For- 
mula and adopt it, thus introducing it into his land. 
But William was very much displeased with the For- 
mula. He saw that its aim was, under the guise of con- 
cord, to drive out all who were not high Lutherans. 
So he wrote to the Elector of Saxony a reply, consisting 
of twelve paradoxes which criticized the Formula of 
Concord. Andrea, the author of the Formula, when he 
heard this, became very angry that a temporal prince 
should presume to criticize such a work of theologians 
— his master-piece. He wrote a very severe answer to 



CONFERENCE AT TREYS A. 



355 



William, charging him with trying, by the aid of the 
devil, to destroy the influence of the Formula of 
Concord. This of course angered William the more, and 
made him the determined foe of the Formula of Concord. 
But while William opposed the Formula, Lewis of 
Upper Hesse was favorable to it. Such, however, was 
the constitution of the Hessian government, that neither 
could express any approval of it without the consent of 
the other. So a conference of ministers was called at 
Treysa, in November, 1577, to decide about the Form- 
ula of Concord. After the opening address by Chan- 
cellor Riedesel, there was a stormy session for twelve 
days, from day dawn till late in the evening of each 
day. The Lower Hessian ministers objected to the doc- 
trine of ubiquity, as found in the Formula of Concord. 
Superintendent Pistorius of Nydda (who had grown 
gray in the service of the Hessian Church) declared the 
subtlety of the Formula too high, and its damnation of 
the Reformed too hard for him. This Treysa Conference, 
with the exception of three ministers who represented 
Upper Hesse, remained true to the Melancthonian po- 
sition, and rejected the Formula of Concord. When the 
next General Synod met, both parties took up the sub- 
ject again. The Lower Hessians were anxious to re- 
tain the ground gained at Treysa, the Upper Hessians 
aimed to undo the decision of Treysa against them. Af- 
ter a sharp debate, the synod affirmed what had been done 



356 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

by the conference at Treysa; thus officially, in the name 
of the Hessian Church, rejecting the Formula of Con- 
cord. William of Hesse and the Prince of Anhalt 
then joined hands in their opposition to the Formula. 
William said he would rather thrust his hand into the 
fire, than sign such a confession. 

Thus, through these controversies, the breach be- 
tween Upper and Lower Hesse widened. It finally be- 
came so great as to render the holding of General Syn- 
ods impossible. So the thirteenth General Synod of 
1582 was the last synod held in the sixteenth century. 
Lower Hesse remained Melancthonian, and Upper 
Hesse became high Lutheran. Finally, the wife of 
Landgrave Lewis died. In her, Hunnius lost his chief 
supporter, and he was finally dismissed at William's re- 
quest. In him, the Lutherans of Upper Hesse lost their 
leader ; but the seed he sowed remained there after him. 

Landgrave William died in 1592, and left his son 
Maurice as his successor. Maurice was called the 
Learned, because of his clear mind and great learning. 
In 1601 he founded a temperance society at Heidelberg 
for Reformed nobles. He had as teacher Cruciger, the 
Crypto-Calvinist, who fled from Saxony. Maurice also 
personally knew some of the leaders of the Reformed 
Church, and w T as in correspondence with others. He 
thus became acquainted with the Reformed Church. 
When he began to reign, the Hessian Church was half 



HESSE BECOMES REFORMED. 



357 



Lutheran and half Reformed. Upper Hesse was Lu- 
theran. Lower Hesse was a mixture. In government 
she was Reformed ; while in doctrine the Formula of 
Concord had been drivings the Melancthonians farther 
from Lutheranism toward the Reformed faith. But still 
her customs were Lutheran. At first Maurice tried to 
unite the two faiths, and to unite Lutheran customs with 
Reformed doctrine and government ; but he found it 
impossible. With his keen, clear mind, he saw that 
the Gordian knot must be cut. Hesse could not be both 
Lutheran and Reformed. The customs must agree with 
the doctrine ; or the doctrine with the customs. So the 
Landgrave, in 1604, ordered three points of reforma- 
tion : first, that polemics and strife must cease in the 
pulpits of the land ; second, that God's command against 
pictures must be enforced, and the pictures must be put 
out of the churches; third, that bread must be used at 
the Lord's supper, instead of wafers. On Whitsunday, 
1605, the Lord's supper was celebrated in the castle 
church at Cassel after the Reformed mode, with the 
breaking of bread. These reforms were introduced into 
Lower Hesse with little difficulty. But in Upper Hesse, 
which had gone over to high Lutheranism, the greatest 
difficulty was experienced. Landgrave Lewis having 
died, Marburg reverted to William, and Maurice, his 
successor, undertook to introduce the Reformed faith 
into this land. The Lutherans of Marburg protested 



358 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

against it. But Maurice sent Superintendent Schonfeld 
to Marburg, to urge the introduction of these three 
points of reformation ; and then sent Schoner to assist 
him. Finally, Maurice himself went to Marburg, and 
on Sunday, July 28, 1605, he spoke to the professors and 
students in the aula of the university. As he went from 
the aula to the Lutheran parish church, he was met by 
a deputation of citizens, who asked him to address the 
people about the reforms. So after service was over, 
from the steps at the choir door of the church, he ad- 
dressed the people. He aimed to impress on them that 
he was introducing no new doctrine ; but that he only 
wanted by his reforms to re-introduce the doctrine of 
the old Hessian Church among them. He then left the 
the city ; but hardly was he gone, before the storm burst. 
All sorts of rumors had been circulated through Mar- 
burg about the Reformed. Rumor declared that all 
fonts and altars would be taken away from the church- 
es; a new faith, a new baptism, new ten command- 
ments, a new Lord's supper would be introduced. On 
Sunday, the fourth of August, announcement was made 
that on the following week days sermons would be 
preached by the Reformed ministers on the three points 
of reformation ordered by Maurice. On Monday, Su- 
perintendent Schonfeld preached on the use of bread, 
instead of wafers, at the communion. The people list- 
ened to him quietly. On Tuesday, Schoner intended to 



RIOT AT MARBURG. 



359 



preach against the use of pictures, as forbidden by the 
second commandment. But before the time of service, 
8 A. M., a report was circulated through the town that 
on that day the pictures would be taken out of the 
churches, by the Landgrave's order. The people became 
very angry at this, and began to assemble in large 
crowds at the door of the church. It was a threatening 
crowd — masons with their pikes, carpenters with their 
rules and levels. Schoner was in the pulpit, and was 
about to begin his sermon, when from the crowd below 
many voices shouted out: "Shut up, you pope. Throw 
the old rogue down with the pulpit and all." The pul- 
pit shook, as be attempted to close the service. He 
kneeled and prayed. Then, at the signal of the leader, 
Anton Harter, which was the singing of the hymn : 
" Allein zu Dir, Herr Jesus Christ," a rush was made 
from all sides. Schoner had left the pulpit to go to the 
altar, to pronounce the benediction. The tumult be- 
came so great that the mob became unmanageable. 
The peaceable ones tried to get out of the church, and 
the rioters tried to get through the church, to lay hold 
of the Reformed ministers. The wife of Goclenius has- 
tened to Schoner and warned him not to go to the altar 
steps, where they were waiting to injure him. She led 
him to the baptismal font, where he wanted to baptize 
a child. But he found it impossible to baptize the 
child; and was himself in the greatest danger. The 



360 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



crowd rushed up to him. Although some cried out 
that he should be spared, because of his age ; yet they 
struck him and pushed him out of the choir door. The 
poor ministers, like sheep for the slaughter, were gathered 
at the professor's bench or gallery, where they supposed 
themselves safer. The rabble, however, rushed on them 
with revilings, tore the clothes off them, and hit the caps 
and hats from their heads. Those below cried out : 
"Throw the rogues down. 7 ' Those above, paid no atten- 
tion to them, but pushed the ministers through the door. 
The ministers prayed for mercy, but found none. The 
mob laid hold of Schonfeld first, pushed him down the 
steps into the vestry, and dragged him between the high 
altars. Those in front struck him ; those at his side 
tripped him and threw him down. When he tried to 
rise, they struck him, until weary and bleeding, he cried 
out: "O spare me, I am now a poor imprisoned man." 
They cried out : " Strike him, strike him dead." Struck 
by a great blow, he cried out : " Lord Jesus, receive my 
spirit and forgive these ; for they know not what they 
do." They left him half dead. But others (that he 
might not die in the church and thus pollute it) tore 
him half dead from the ground, pushed him or rather 
threw him out of the door of the choir, where some 
students caught him in their mantles and gowns, and 
broke his fall. These carried him into the court of 
justice, and thus preserved his life. The other min- 



RIOT AT MARBURG. 



361 



isters, who had come to the service, also had to suffer. 
Pfaff, who had lived a long time in Marburg, w r as 
thrust out of the back door of the church, and told that 
the devil would catch him, if he ever stepped in the 
pulpit. Cellarius fared worse. Dragged hither and 
thither in the crowd, he was thrust out of the church 
into the church yard against the walls of the parsonage. 
He sought safety in the parsonage. But the wife of 
superintendent Leuchter, who had just been dismissed 
for his Lutheranism, still lived in the parsonage. She 
was, therefore, in no amiable mood toward the Re- 
formed, and^bluntly refused his entreaties, saying to him : 
" Go away. Escape where you can. You have noth- 
ing to do here." He was then pursued, through the 
neighboring garden into the street, by a butcher with a 
hatchet. Hardly had he escaped these dangers, than a 
woman attacked him with a washing beetle, beating him 
most unmercifully, and pursuing him till he reached the 
door of the Barefooted Monks' church. There, at her 
loud cry that some one would stop him, a thresher 
sprang out with his flail. But he was appeased by the 
prayer of the minister : " O, I pray you with God's will, 
I am too severely beaten already, and have done no 
harm to yourself or anybody." Hainstein and Kirch- 
ner, two other ministers, saved themselves by a bold 
spring from the upper gallery, where the ministers sat. 
24 



362 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Hainstein escaped, as he was not known, and as he 
looked so young that he was taken for a student. 

Finally, the rage of the people died out. Then the 
citizens locked the church and went to the city hall, to 
deliberate what was next to be done. For four hours 
they discussed how they might defend the city against 
the Landgrave. It happened that Maurice had received 
word of the riot by noon at Gmunden. He hastened 
back, and by midnight had entered his castle at Mar- 
burg, with seventy armed men of Kirchwain. The next 
morning he sent a messenger from the castle, to sum- 
mon the citizens before him, that they might ask pardon 
for their excesses. They scornfully answered that they 
had cleaned their arms and bought all the powder in 
the town. The Landgrave, on hearing this insubordi- 
tion, threateningly demanded the unconditional disarm- 
ing of all the citizens. The citizens soon came to their 
senses, as the Landgrave began ordering troops from all 
directions to Marburg. So they submitted ; and on 
Thursday the city was put under martial law, and the 
citizens disarmed. The next day Landgrave Maurice, 
leading the Reformed ministers, went to the church. 
Schonfeld preached, although still bearing the marks of 
his injuries. His text was : " Love your enemies." 
He said the other ministers were gladly willing to forget 
their insults and forgive their injuries. After the bene- 
diction, Maurice arose in the church, and with touching 



RESULTS OF THE RIOT 



363 



words reproached the citizens for what they had done. 
He closed his speech with the words: "Since so great 
an evil comes from dumb idols, and through it men are 
led to attempt murder ; therefore, after the example of 
his holy king, to remedy scandal, they shall be put 
away and removed out of sight." Then, at his com- 
mand, all the pictures, images and crucifixes were torn 
from their places and cast out of the church. The ring- 
leaders of the riot were arrested or fled. The quarter- 
ing of the soldiers on the citizens soon proved a heavy 
burden to them, so they soon came to terms with the 
Landgrave. On the 13th of August, the burgomaster 
and town council came to the Landgrave, to ask for the 
removal of the troops. The Landgrave received them 
before his castle under the open sky. As they came be- 
fore him, they fell at his feet; but the Landgrave for- 
bade this act of homage. Then it was that Schonfeld 
stepped forward, and in the name of his ministerial col- 
leagues, interceded for the repentant citizens. This un- 
expected act of Christian generosity quite won the heart 
of the Landgrave for them. They were forgiven, and 
the soldiers taken away. On the following Sunday, 
after a sermon had been preached on Maurice's three 
points of reformation, the Lord's supper was celebrated 
after the Reformed mode, with bread and not with 
wafers. The court professors, part of the students and 
the city council, partook of it ; but few of the citizens. 



364 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Every Sabbath crowds of men and women were seen 
going to the neighboring villages of Schrock and Bauer- 
bach, in the Electorate of Mayence, to receive the Lord's 
supper after the Lutheran mode. 

There w r as also further resistance to Maurice's points 
of reformation by the country ministers of Upper Hesse. 
Some of them went so far as to pray that God's judgment 
might come on him. They went to his brother, the 
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and asked him to inter- 
cede for them. Bat he could not do anything, save to 
found the Lutheran university at Giessen, near Marburg, 
in 1607, to offset the teachings of Marburg, which now 
became Reformed. 

The next act of Maurice was to reorganize the Gen- 
eral Synod of Hesse, which, through dissensions with 
the high Lutherans, had been abrogated in 1582. It 
met for the first time in the seventeenth century at Cassel, 
in 1607. The General Synod then officially announced 
its adherence to the Reformed Church. It ordered 
(after the Reformed mode) the introduction of the sing- 
ing of Psalms, of catechetical preaching, and strict 
church discipline. It allowed (and here it differs from 
all other Reformed churches) the pericopes or Scripture 
lessons to be read every Sabbath. This was the first use 
of pericopes in the Reformed Church of Germany. It 
reveals the influence of Lutheranism on the Hessian Re- 
formed Church. And even to this century, for some 



hesse's reformation completed. 365 

such causes, the Hessian Church has not been considered 
a fully Reformed Church, by the Reformed Churches 
west of it. After a few attempts at opposition, the Re- 
formed faith was thoroughly introduced into Lower 
Hesse. A consistory, with Schonfeld as president, was 
appointed in 1610. The old Lutheran office of superin- 
tendent was absorbed in the consistory. Hesse thus be- 
came a Reformed land. But there was always a slight 
tinge of Lutheran influence in a few of her customs, as 
in her liturgy and the use of Scripture lessons, which 
none of the other Reformed Churches revealed. 



CHAPTER IV. — SECTION IV. 



Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Brandenberg, 

The last of the great German princes to receive the 
Reformed faith was the Elector of Brandenberg, the an- 
cestor of the present Emperor of Germany. Branden- 
berg was afterwards merged into Prussia and now rules 
the great empire of Germany. So that the conversion 
of the Elector of Brandenberg was the most important 
of all, in its bearing on the future history of the Re- 
formed Church of Germany. Before the introduction 
of the Reformed faith into Brandenberg, the people of 
that land were intensely Lutheran. Thus in 1568, a 
pastor at Frankford on the Oder, was tried as a criminal, 
for spilling a few drops of wine at the communion. 
Brandenberg was high Lutheran, a strict adherent of 
the Formula of Concord. No Reformed people were 
allowed to become citizens, and prominent persons were 
put out of office, if they were suspected of Zwinglianism. 
But still, in spite of these laws, Calvinists or Crypto- 
Calvinists would get into the land. Some Reformed 
people came from Holland as early as 1531. And Ger- 
man emigrants came from Strasburg, bringing Bucer's 



YOUTH OF SIGISMUND. 



367 



views with them. In Poland, on the east of Branden- 
berg, there were many Reformed, and some of them 
would come over the border. The first Prussian noble 
to embrace the Reformed faith was the Baron Von Dohna, 
who had travelled extensively, and thus been brought 
into contact with the Reformed people. It thus became 
very hard to keep the Reformed out of the land, especially 
as they claimed to be protected by the Augsburg Con- 
fession. Finally Calvinism reached the throne, as Elec- 
tor Sigismund united with the Reformed Church in 1613. 

Elector John Sigismund was born at Halle in 1572, 
where his father was administrator. But he was mainly 
raised at Berlin by his grandfather, whose favorite he 
was. He had for his religious instructor Gedicke, the 
cathedral preacher of Halle. Gedicke was one of the 
highest of the high Lutherans, going so far as to call the 
Calvinists " Mamelukes." But in his overzeal for Lu- 
theranism, he rather prejudiced Sigismund's mind against 
it (as is often the case with independent minds). When 
Sigismund was twenty-one years of age, his grandfather, 
a fanatical Lutheran, made him take a solemn oath that 
he would always remain a Lutheran, and an adherent of 
the Formula of Concord.* This oath was supposed to 
be able to prevent him from ever departing from the 
Lutheran faith. But oaths are weak to bind consciences, 

*This obligation he took on the 27th of January, 1593, between 
7 and 8 A. M., in the church rooms of the Moritzburg at Halle, 
in the presence of Gedicke and others. 



368 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



especially when the oath is found to be contrary to con- 
science. So, when he became Elector in 1609, he found 
that the Reformed faith was everywhere forcing itself on 
him. There had been a crop of conversions to the Re- 
formed faith from among his own princely acquaintances. 
The princes of Anhalt, Lippe and Hesse had left Lu- 
theranism for the Reformed faith, through their opposi- 
tion to the Formula of Concord. One of them, Duke 
John George of Anhalt, was his intimate friend and 
neighbor. And the Reformed faith suited his mild dis- 
position ; for he had no sympathy with the polemics that 
the Lutheran preachers were always hurling against the 
Reformed. He preferred the gospel to polemics. Final- 
ly a betrothal of his oldest son to a Palatinate princess, 
the daughter of Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate, 
brought him in direct contact with the Reformed. He 
himself went, in order to be present at his son's marriage, 
to Heidelberg — 'that synagogue of Satan' in the eyes 
of the high Lutherans. He thus learned to admire and 
to become attached to the Reformed Church. In 1613 
he said he had been attached to their faith for more than 
eight years. He waited several years after becoming 
Elector, and then, as he said, to ease his conscience, he 
joined the Reformed Church. 

He has been charged with becoming Reformed for 
political reasons. The duchy of Julich-Cleve-Berg in 
western Germany was in dispute between the Duke 



CAUSE OF SIGISMUND's CONVERSION". 369 

of Pfalz- Neuberg and himself. The people of this duchy 
were largely Reformed. It has been charged that he 
became Reformed so as to gain the affections of those 
people, as well as to gain the aid of Holland, which was 
a Reformed country. But even if he did go over to the 
Reformed faith thus, Hering answers the Lutherans, 
(< because Constantine the Great went over to Christianity 
from political motives, is Christianity therefore false ?" 
And because Sigismund may have gone over to the Re- 
formed faith for political reasons, is that a sign that the 
Reformed religion is false ? But there are one or two con- 
siderations that make it very unlikely that Sigismund 
joined the Reformed Church from political motives. 
One is that the charge was not brought forward against 
him till after his death. He made enemies enough in 
his life, so that if there were any truth in this charge, it 
would have come out while he lived. And the fact that 
Voltaire is the one who makes the charge, makes one 
suspicious of it. A second consideration is, that it is to 
be remembered that whatever political influence he would 
gain in Julich-Cleve-Berg by going over to the Reformed 
Church, he would lose in his own Lutheran lands of 
Brandenberg and Prussia, which were intensely Luther- 
an. It has been said that he joined the Reformed to 
gain the support of Holland, which was Reformed. But 
Holland did not limit her support to Reformed princes 
only. She supported Lutheran Denmark and Catholic 



370 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Portugal and Austria. Moreover Holland was jealous 
of any great power like Brandenberg, snatching the 
county of Cleve, which was so near her borders. He 
could not have hoped to gain the sympathy of Holland 
by such an act. The better view is that Sigismund went 
over to the Reformed faith from conviction of the truth 
of Calvinism, and not from political motives. His 
brother, prince Ernest, had already joined the Re- 
formed church at Sedan. Ernest, in his palace chapel 
in Berlin, had had a private celebration of the Lord's 
supper after the Reformed mode as early as July, 1613, 
when Landgrave Maurice of Hesse visited him. The 
Elector's son, John George, had already, at Wesel, par- 
taken of the Lord's supper and joined the Reformed 
Church. Eink, the new Court preacher, was a Crypto- 
Calvinist. 

All these things aroused the suspicions of Gedicke, 
the champion of high Lutheranism, and he began to 
protest against the introduction of Calvinism. Fink, in 
October, 1613, was threatened with a mob by the Luth- 
erans. While he was preaching, they waited before the 
church door, with stones in their hands, to stone him 
when he came out. They cried out : " Come out, you 
Calvinistic pope." Some of them became bolder and 
were about entering the church to attack Fink, when, 
fortunately, some of the Elector's soldiers passed by, 
and took him under their protection. These things 



SIGISMUND BECOMES REFORMED. 371 

showed which way the tide was drifting. Sigismund 
finally determined to come out publicly as an adherent 
of the Reformed Church. On the eighteenth of De- 
cember he summoned the ministers of Berlin and Ccelln 
to the castle.* There is in the royal castle at Berlin a 
*■ white saloon' which is famous for its ghost of the 
White Lady, a spectre which is said to appear just be- 
fore the death of a member of the royal family of the 
Hohenzollerns. A new, but real ghost appeared at 
that time in this White Saloon at this meeting, which 
foretold the death of Lutheranism in the family of the 
Elector. Chancellor Pruckman opened the conference 
with an address, which announced the fact that the 
Elector would celebrate the Lord's supper after the Re- 
formed mode in the cathedral, on the coming Christ- 
mas. But, although the Elector himself joined the Re- 
formed Church, he wished it understood that he did not 
wish to force his subjects to do so, too. He would 
usurp no authority over their consciences. And the 
Elector asked them to give him the same liberty of 
conscience that he granted to them. He ordered the 
Lutherans to cease their attacks on the Reformed. The 
Lutherans answered that every one should be guided 
by his conscience. But they reminded the Elector that 
he was breaking the oath taken at Halle, in 1593, when 

^Berlin lay on the east side of the river Spree. Coelln in- 
cluded the island in the river and the west bank of the river. 



372 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

he promised never to leave the Lutheran faith. It is 
true he violated his oath, but in judging Sigismund for 
it, we must remember that he was only following the 
the habit of his family before him. Elector Joachim I. 
of Brandenberg, a rigid Catholic, had made his son Jo- 
achim take a solemn oath always to remain a Catholic. 
His son violated the oath and became Protestant. These 
Lutherans might have been reminded that, but for the 
violation of such an oath by Joachim, they never would 
have had the Lutheran faith in Brandenberg. Sigis- 
mund was only following in the footsteps of his ances- 
tor in thus violating his oath. He merely broke his 
oath to his grandfather, Joachim, as he had done to his 
father before him. The fact is, that on religious ques- 
tions, conscience is supreme. 

So, on Christmas, 1613, the Elector publicly joined 
the Reformed Church by partaking of the Reformed 
communion in the cathedral church at Berlin.* Fussel 
and Fink distributed the bread, instead of the wafers, to 
about fifty-five communicants, mainly the nobles of the 
court. The next Reformed communion was held on 
Easter, 1614, when the court preacher of the Palatinate, 

*The old building, which thus became historic by this intro- 
duction of the Reformed faith into Brandenberg, was situated 
next to the palace, on the present Schlossplatz or castle square, 
south of the palace. It was torn down by King Frederick the 
Great, because it threatened to fall down. He erected the 
present cathedral on the other side of the palace. A wooden de- 
sign of the old building is in the Hohenzollern Museum in Ber- 
lin. 



HE RECEIVES REFORMED COMMUNION. 373 



Scultetus, preached and administered the Lord's supper 
to seventy-four communicants.* Scultetus then left 
Berlin, to go to his former home in Silesia, but he 
again returned to Berlin in the autumn. Then he in- 
stalled two Reformed ministers over the Reformed con- 
gregation at Berlin, and returned to 1 his home at Hei- 
delberg. 

The conversion of Sigismund created a great stir 
both inside and outside of his land. His wife, a Prus- 

*A high Lutheran, named Huber, wrote against Fink, and 
said that at the first Reformed communion in Berlin he had in- 
troduced a new kind of bread-breaking, even different from the 
custom of the other Reformed churches. Huber opposed Cal- 
vinism, because he said they had so many different methods of 
communing. Thus, he says, at Berne they used wafers. At 
Basle, Gryneus used little cakes of bread. In Zurich they re- 
mained sitting, and the students came with wooden platters, on 
which the wafer cakes were laid, and each communicant broke 
a piece from them. In Heidelberg a platter with broken bread 
was placed on the table, from which each one broke a piece of 
bread or crumb. In Hesse small pieces of bread as wide as a 
dollar, cut cross- wise by the baker into four quarter pieces, were 
used. These the minister broke into as many pieces as he 
needed. But Huber claimed that Fink introduced a new kind 
of bread-breaking, namely — that the crust was cut from the 
bread, the bread cut into long pieces, and these afterwards 
broken into morsels and given to the communicants. These 
facts are interesting, even if they were all true; but all this 
looks like a species of ecclesiastical dissection that is not hardly 
worthy of notice. Tbis charge of Huber's, that this, the first 
communion, was not a purely Reformed one, is not probable ; 
for Fussel, who had charge of it, came to Berlin from Anhalt, 
where he must have been familiar with the Reformed customs. 
And even if the bread was given out in this way at the first 
communion, it was changed at the next communion to the Pa- 
latinate method, which still prevails in Brandenberg. 



374 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

sian princess, remained a bitter Lutheran to the end of 
her life. She opposed the Reformed, because she sup- 
posed they taught that Christ was only a man. In her 
last will, she ordered her chaplain, in her funeral ser- 
mon, to disown the Calvinistic heresy, — "that Christ's 
blood and death ate merely a man's blood and death." 

The feeling of the people against the Elector was 
intense, notwithstanding the Elector's grant of relig- 
ious liberty to them. In 1614 he issued a decree pro- 
claiming freedom of conscience to both the Lutherans 
and the Reformed. He did not believe in the common 
maxim of the age, " Like prince, like people." The 
people should be allowed to worship God as they 
wished. He was, therefore, the first to proclaim liberty 
of conscience. Before it was declared by the Puritans 
on Plymouth Rock, or by the Baptists at Providence, 
the Reformed at Berlin gave utterance to it. Still, in 
spite of this liberty, the Lutheran ministers attacked the 
Calvinists. One said the Koran was more truthful than 
the Calvinists. Another charged that on ninety-nine 
points the Calvinists agreed with the Turks. Another 
said, he would give two, yes three hundred arguments, 
why the teaching of the Calvinists was worse than the 
teaching of the devil. They called the Calvinists 6 dogs.' 
The Reformed were followed with abuse in the streets. 
The people stoned the preachers. The Elector, to calm 
the feelings of the people, held a conference of the min- 



RIOT AT BERLIN. 



375 



isters ; but it produced no result. The feeling of the 
people finally broke out into open riot on the third of 
April, 1615. Elector Sigismund had ordered that be- 
fore Holy Week all pictures, altars, crucifixes, fonts, etc., 
should be put out of the church. Instead of an altar, 
a plain, communion table was placed in the chancel.* 

On the following Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, 
Stuler, one of the pastors of the neighboring St. Peter's 
church, preached very violently against this removal of 
Lutheran altars and pictures. He defended the use of 
pictures in churches, and especially a stone picture or 
sculpture to the right of the pulpit. In his zeal he even 
went so far as to become abusive of the Elector. He 
said that if the Elector wanted to reform, he should go 
to Julich, where he would find enough to reform. He 
became so abusive that even the Electress and her court 
preacher, Muller, were offended at him. Afterward he 
asked the Electress and the mayor that a watch might 
be placed over him that night, lest he might be pri- 
vately arrested by the Elector for what he had said 
against him. But it was refused. So he stole away on 
Monday to Schoneberg, as he expected to be arrested 
that night. As he left town, he complained to every 
one he met, about the great danger he was in. His fears, 

*There had been twelve silver and gilt apostles, with a statue 
of Christ, all of life size, in the church. These were removed to 
the fort Custrin, where they remained till 1631, when they were 
melted down and made into dollars. 



376 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



however, were the result of his own imagination. There 
was not any truth in them, for the Elector was not at 
home at the time. They were the phantoms of a guilty 
conscience. But his words raised a tremendous tumult 
in Berlin. As he did not return on Monday night, the 
rumor spread abroad that he was arrested. This caused 
anxiety. His wife told all, that the Margrave intended 
to arrest him that night, and put him in the Green Hat 
(a name given to the dungeon in the castle). She dealt 
out beer to the crowd gathering around, until they be- 
came overheated by excitement and beer. So a crowd 
of five hundred strong went down the Bruderstrasse 
(Brothers' Street) to court preacher Fussel's house and 
threw stones into its windows. They also did the same 
to Fink's house, and to the court apothecary's, who was 
known to be a Calvinist. They threatened to break the 
necks of the Reformed ministers. 

The news of the danger was brought to the castle at 
ten P. M., just as the Margrave was going to bed. He 
had charge of the city in the absence of the Elector : and 
he supposed his presence would be sufficient to quiet any 
disturbance. So, armed only with a fencing foil, he 
started out with only eight cavalrymen and some halber- 
diers on foot. But when he arrived at the church yard 
of St. Peter's, he found an angry, dangerous crowd. He 
urged them to go home, as there was no need of alarm. 
But the crowd thought that now Stuler's words had come 



RIOT IN BERLIN. 



377 



true, and the Margrave had come out to arrest that Lu- 
theran pastor. So they became more angry than ever. 
The mob sheltered itself behind the wall of the church 
yard, which ran through Green street. But some one 
of the Margrave's company shot off a pistol. This made 
the mob angrier than ever. They broke in the door of 
St. Peter's church, rushed up the tower, rang the alarm 
bell, thus calling the citizens of Berlin to come over. 
The alarm and the danger became greater than ever. 
The people of Berlin streamed across the long bridge 
and the mill dam. The Margrave became alarmed at 
the gathering crowd, and slowly retreated down the Bru- 
derstrasse to the burgomaster's house. He hurried the 
burgomaster, Jahnens, out of his house, before he had 
even time to complete his toilet, so that he might quiet 
the people. But this act, instead of quieting the people, 
only made them angrier. They got the idea that the 
Margrave had arrested the burgomaster, so as to take 
him to the dungeon in the castle. They shouted : "Kill 
the Margrave. Plunder the castle." In vain did the 
burgomaster call out to the people that he was not ar- 
rested. The people then turned against him and cried 
out : "Down with him. He betrays us. He courts the 
Elector's favor." The burgomaster became so alarmed 
that he begged the Elector's secretary, Fehrer, who hap- 
pened to look out of his window, to let him come into 
his house for safety. The crowd then began to stone 
25 



378 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the Margrave and his body guard. He retired to a 
house on the Bruder-strasse after ten of his men had 
been wounded. He finally retired to the castle. But 
the mob was not satisfied with what had happened. The 
worse part of them went to the house of the Reformed 
preacher, Fussel, and stormed it. Armed with axes, 
they broke in the door, crying : "Where is the parson ? 
Kill the Calvinistic dog." He and his family escaped 
out of a dormer window to the roof of a neighboring 
house. The plunderers stole his books, silver-ware and 
clothing. The plundering continued till 4 A. M. Fus- 
sel afterwards wrote to a friend, saying that there were 
six assassins in the house, who went there not to plunder, 
but to kill him. He was so badly robbed that he had 
no clothing left, but what he had on. So he went into 
the pulpit on Thursday of Holy Week in a green waist- 
coat, over which he had cast a cloak, loaned him by one 
of the council. This act of a minister going into a pul- 
pit with a green waistcoat was an incongruous one, but 
mobs pay no attention to the proprieties of life. The 
mob threatened that Chancellor Pruckman^s house would 
be treated similarly the next night, yes, perhaps the cas- 
tle itself. 

The Elector returned to the city the next day. 
When he heard the news, he hardly knew what to do. 
He did not dare take severe measures against the lead- 
ers, because of the anger of the people. When the coun- 



RESULTS OF THE RIOT. 



379 



cil of Coelln appeared before him to apologize for the 
riot, he merely reproached them, that they did not shut 
the gates of the town to prevent a riot, and thus keep 
out the people who came over from Berlin ; and that 
after Fussel's house had been robbed, they did not 
close the gates and keep the robbers in, as they did in 
ordinary robberies. He did not make any farther in- 
quiry, but ordered that a citizens' guard should be 
raised, and that horses should be kept saddled in the 
castle, in case they were needed 

When Stuler heard of the mild measures taken by 
the Elector against the plunderers, he took courage and 
came back to Berlin. On Green Thursday and Easter 
he again stirred up the people. He said that the Elec- 
tor had ordered that a citizens' watch should be formed 
and arms placed in the castle, so that suddenly, when 
no one thought of it, the Elector would take revenge on 
the people of Coelln. His preaching was quite in con- 
trast with Fussel's on Holy Thursday. Fussel preached 
an impassioned sermon, in which he pardoned all his 
enemies, as they knew not what they did ; and reminded 
each one of his solemn duty to God and the state. Stu- 
ler's words took effect, and a rumor spread itself abroad 
that the Elector was secretly laying plans to massacre 
the Lutherans — that he would suddenly fall on them by 
night and cause a new massacre of St. Bartholomew to 
take place. The Elector, when he heard of it, sent word 



380 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



to the council of Ccelln that he had never thought of 
such a thing. Gradually the people quieted down and 
confidence was restored. But Stuler, fearing arrest, 
and feeling that the people did not support him in his 
severe language, left the city and fled to Wittenberg. 

Such was the feeling in Berlin against the Elector 
and his Reformed innovations. The feeling in many 
parts of Brandenberg was almost as bitter. But still 
the Elector quietly proceeded to introduce his Reformed 
faith, wherever it was possible without giving offence. 
He not only reformed his Church, but also made his 
university at Frankford on the Oder Reformed. It's 
theological professors, Pelargus and Bergius, became 
Reformed. Bergius became the great leader of the Re- 
formed Church of Brandenberg, He was a very mod- 
erate Calvinist. He was ordered by the Elector to go 
to the Synod of Dort, but he declined for various rea- 
sons. When his colleague in the university, Evell, 
went over to supralapsarian predestination, Bergius 
preached against it. He followed the confession that 
Sigismund had promulgated in 1614, which, while mod- 
erately Calvinistic, was sublapsarian and held to the 
universal atonement. A Reformed church was also 
organized at Frankford, which worshipped at first in 
the aula of the university. Then the great church 
(which is still the university church), was given them, 
where they worshipped with the Lutherans. In 1650 



RESULTS OF SIGISMUND's CONVERSION. 381 

the Reformed received a church of their own, the St. 
Nicolas church, which had been unoccupied since the 
reformation. The Elector tried to organize a Reformed 
congregation at Konigsberg, in East Prussia. But, be- 
sides service in the chapel of his palace, he was not suc- 
cessful. It was not till 1636 that there was a Reformed 
preacher at Konigsberg, and in 1690 the corner-stone of a 
Reformed church was laid there. There were then only 
two Reformed churches in Brandenberg, one at Berlin, 
and one at Frankford. These were afterwards rein- 
forced by the large Huguenot immigration from France. 
The Elector and court became Reformed, while the 
people remained Lutheran. Religious liberty was 
granted to all. On this Frederick the Great, more than 
a century later, based his remark that in Prussia every- 
one could go to heaven after his own fashion. 

The conversion of Sigismund to the Reformed faith 
was fraught with most important results. Next to the 
conversion of the Elector of the Palatinate in 1561, his 
conversion was the most important that had taken place 
in Germany. The conversion of Sigismund secured 
two Electors to the Reformed faith in Germany. It 
thus secured recognition for it in Germany, and gave it 
the protection ; without which it would have suffered 
greatly, if not been exterminated. After the Thirty 
Years' War, it was the Elector of Brandenberg who se- 
cured to the Reformed the right to exist in Germany 
under the treaty of Westphalia. And when later still 



382 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the Catholic Elector of the Palatinate so terribly perse- 
cuted the Reformed of that land, he threatened, if he did 
not cease, that he would retaliate on the Catholics in 
Brandenberg. He thus stood forth as the protector of 
the Reformed. And when the Lutheran Elector of 
Saxony went back to the Romish faith, and the Elector 
of the Palatinate lost his throne, he alone remained 
as the great protector of Protestantism in Germany. 
This house of Brandenberg has since developed into the 
royal family of Germany. We have been informed by 
Rev. Dr. Schaff that the Heidelberg catechism is still 
used by the royal family in the instruction of its princes. 
The Reformed Church then owes a good deal to this 
conversion of Brandenberg. And Brandenberg owes a 
great deal to the Reformed Church for its prosperity and 
success. The Reformed faith by its simplicity taught sim- 
plicity of court manners. It thus developed economy, 
fidelity and integrity. Its religion brought that land into 
connection with Reformed Holland and England (the 
two rising powers of Europe), which aided the growth of 
Prussia. It led the Elector to invite into his dominions 
thousands of French Reformed refugees, who, by their 
industry and prosperity, laid the foundation of Prussia's 
future greatness. And the present Emperor William, 
trained in the Heidelberg catechism in his youth, stands 
out before the world as a shining specimen of the piety 
of the Heidelberg catechism and of the Reformed Church 
of Germany. 



CHAPTER IY. — SECTION V. 

Introduction of the Reformed Faith into Liegnitz, 
Schonaicher, &o. 

The last counties in Germany to receive the Re- 
formed faith were Liegnitz and Schonaicher. The Duke 
of Liegnitz was the high prince of Silesia, and hence a 
prominent noble of Eastern Germany. His conversion, 
therefore, caused quite a stir in that Lutheran section of 
Germany. Liegnitz is situated west of Breslau, the 
birthplace of Ursinus. But the movement that led 
Liegnitz into the Reformed Church, was not connected 
with the movement in that direction in the days of Ur- 
sinus; but it was caused by the intermarriage of the 
Duke of Liegnitz with the Princess of Anhalt, which had 
become Reformed. The prince had a Reformed councillor 
in Wenzel of Zedlitz. It has been a debated question 
whether Duke Joachim Frederick became Reformed be- 
fore he died or not. The Reformed historians held that 
he did ; the Lutheran historians held that he did not. 
At any rate he simplified the ceremonies of the Lutheran 
Church very much. He put away all ornaments, or- 
gans and pictures out of the castle church ; so that its 
simplicity became a novelty to the Lutherans of Eastern 



384 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMAUY. 



Germany. But it was his son, Duke John Christian of 
Brieg, who fully introduced the Reformed faith into the 
duchy. As the Emperor Rudolph of Germany tried to 
get his family to send him to the imperial court, to be 
educated by the Jesuits ; he was sent to Berlin, where he 
would be safe from the machinations of the Emperor. 
His marriage with the daughter of the Elector of Bran- 
denberg brought him into close connection with that 
court. And when that Elector, in 1613, went over to 
the Reformed faith, he followed him. Xeomenius, his 
superintendent, being a Calvinist, greatly aided in its 
introduction. 

There seems to be some doubt about the exact date 
of the introduction of the Reformed faith into Liegnitz. 
One writer says it was introduced in 1614, and another 
in 1619. These two dates may be harmonized by say- 
ing that the Duke adhered to the Reformed Church as 
early as 1614, but did not publicly introduce the Re- 
formed customs into his land till 1619, as his people 
were all intensely Lutheran. But about that time the 
Reformed influence became very strong in neighboring 
Bohemia, and the Duke took courage to introduce it. 
On Christmas, 1619, the Duke and Duchess, with per- 
sons from Breslau and Xeisse, eighty-five in all, partook 
of the communion after the Reformed mode. In the 
next year, the presence of Frederick V., the Elector of 
the Palatinate, the new King of Bohemia, in Breslau 



LIEGNITZ AND SCHONAICHER. 385 

greatly helped the introduction of the Reformed faith. 
Scultetus, the great court preacher of Elector Frederick 
V. of the Palatinate, came then to Breslau and preached. 
Indeed, Scultetus was a Silesian by birth, and greatly 
aided the introduction of the Reformed faith in his home 
in Eastern Germany. Thus the court and its members 
and the gymnasium, founded by the Duke, were Re- 
formed ; but the people were, for the most part, Lu- 
theran. The Reformed faith was also introduced into 
Breslau during the brief presence of King Frederick of 
Bohemia. And thus Ursinus' home had an opportunity 
to receive the Reformed Church. 

Schonaicher. 

The noble family of Schonaicher was a well known 
and highly honored family in Eastern Germany. The 
county seat of Schonaicher was Beuthen, north of Lieg- 
nitz. Near Beuthen was the castle Carolath, belonging 
to the Schonaicher family. Count George of Schonaicher 
introduced the Reformed faith and customs into his land. 
His little county became quite influential for its size. 
He founded a gymnasium, which exerted a wide influ- 
ence for the Reformed faith over Eastern Germany. 
Situated in a corner between Brandenberg, Silesia and 
Poland, it drew for support on all those lands, and in 
return it influenced them toward the Reformed faith. 
It was in close sympathy with the neighboring Reformed 



386 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

university of Frankford on the Oder. The noble fam- 
ily of Carolath-Beuthen, as it is now called, still remains 
Reformed, although the Liegnitz family has gone into 
the Evangelical or United Church of Germany. 

An attempt was also made to introduce the Reformed 
faith into Mecklenberg, at Gustrow, in 1618, by Duke 
John Albert, and also to introduce it into Gottorp near 
Schleswig, by Count John Adolph in 1610, but both at- 
tempts perished with the death of these princes. The 
Reformed faith was also introduced into the neighboring 
districts of Poland, as Dantzig and Elbing (now included 
in Germany). Between 1590 and 1606 the Reformed 
were in the majority in those cities. At Dantzig a Re- 
formed gymnasium was founded under Keckerman. 



CHAPTER V. 



The Close of the Introduction of the Reformed 
Church into Germany. 

With the year 1620 ended the introduction of the 
Reformed faith into Germany. It would be a pleasant 
task, were there time, to describe the immigration of 
thousands of the French Reformed people into Ger- 
many in the seventeenth century ; but space forbids. 
Only two events remain to close this history, before a 
new era begins, in 1620, with the Thirty Years' War. 
One of these two events was political ; the other was 
theological. Both marked the culmination of the influ- 
ences previously at work. The one was the election of 
Elector Frederick V. of the Palatinate to be King of 
Bohemia ; the other was the Synod of Dort. 

SECTION I. 

Elector Frederick V. of the Palatinate. 1610—20. 

Elector Frederick Y. was only fourteen years of age 
when his father, Frederick IV., died. At once there 
came up the question of the guardianship of the child. 
The nearest relatives were the two noble Palatinate 



388 THE EEFOEMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



families of Neuberg and Zweibrucken. Bat Elector 
Frederick IV. had foreseen this difficulty. And, being 
fearful that the Catholic prince of Xeuberg might be- 
come guardian and then educate his son as a Catholic, 
Frederick IV. arranged that Count John of Zweibriick- 
en was placed in that position before he died. The 
Duke of Xeuberg made an attempt to secure the guar- 
dianship ; but Count John had possession of the posi- 
tion, and could not be moved. Count John, who was 
an adherent of the Reformed Church, was a wise states- 
man and a good guardian to Frederick. "When Fred- 
erick V. became eighteen years of age, he assumed his 
duties as ruler of the Palatinate. The two most im- 
portant events in the early part of his reign were his 
marriage to the princess Elizabeth, daughter of King 
James I. of England, and his election to the throne of 
Bohemia. 

Elector Frederick in his youth was educated at the 
court of the Duke of Bouillon, at Sedan. At the sug- 
gestion of this duke, a marriage between Frederick and 
Elizabeth was projected. This was an important event 
in a political point of view ; for it united the two pow- 
erful Reformed states of England and the Palatinate. 
The English people, at first, were somewhat opposed to 
the match, especially the Catholics, who wanted King 
James to marry his daughter to a Catholic prince. And 
her marriage into the royal family of Spain was spoken 



MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 



389 



of. They objected to Frederick that he was only a 
German prince, and was not high enough in rank to 
marry the princess of England. But the Palatinate 
ambassador declared that a German pr.ince was higher 
in rank than an English baron. He reminded them 
that Frederick was the foremost prince of the German 
empire, and was equal in rank to the King of Denmark, 
whose territory and influence were less than Frederick's. 

The Protestants of England looked with favor on 
the match, because they felt it would strengthen the 
influence of Protestantism in the royal house of Eng- 
land. And because Frederick was Reformed, the Re- 
formed people of England inclined toward him. When 
he arrived in England, they were captivated by the 
fine appearance and elegant manners of the young prince. 
He took the place of the late prince of Wales in their 
hearts. And although this marriage was intended to be 
a political one, yet as soon as Frederick and Elizabeth 
saw each other, it changed into a real love match be- 
tween the two. All kinds of honors were showered on 
Frederick in England. The freedom of the city of 
London was given to him. He was made a knight of 
the royal order of the garter. The wedding took place 
on February 14, 1613, the Bishop of Wales officiating. 
Frederick then visited Cambridge and Oxford, where 
he left his autograph in the album of the university. 
He sailed with his bride on the 20th of April in the 



390 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Prince Royal, an Admiral ship of the English navy, 
and landed at Flushing. The progress of the princely 
pair homeward to Heidelberg was like a triumphal 
procession. The Palatinate ships met Elizabeth away 
down the Rhine, below Bonn. Everywhere the recep- 
tion by the Germans was most cordial. When Freder- 
ick and Elizabeth arrived at Heidelberg, on the 7th of 
June, the town was filled with strangers, two thousand 
guests having arrived. These, in military procession, 
awaited the entrance of the princely pair. Salutes of 
cannon were fired, the city was adorned with triumphal 
arches, the whole town was decked with flowers ; and for 
a week there were games and festivities in honor of the 
wedding. . 

This marriage greatly changed the court life at Hei- 
delberg. Before this, it had been rather simple ; but 
now it became splendid and extravagant. The Elector, 
who was a devoted husband, built for his beautiful 
bride, the west end of the castle, called to this day " the 
English building." He wished her to have a home that 
would rival the palace she had left in England. He had 
the gardens of the palace laid out by the famous Norman 
gardener, Salomon de Caus. These grounds were beau- 
tifully terraced, and ornamented with grottoes, which 
were lined with precious stones and corals. There were 
beautiful lakes and also fountains, so constructed as to 
sprinkle the visitor unawares. An orangerie of four 



FREDERICK ELECTED KING OF BOHEMIA. 391 

hundred trees was planted. Indeed, the garden was 
one of the wonders of its day. It was considered so 
fine that it excited the envy of King Louis XIV. of 
France, lest it would outrival his famous gardens at 
Versailles.* 

The political relations between the Protestant Union, 
of which Frederick was the leader, and the Catholic 
League, were becoming more and more strained. In 
1617 occurred the centennial of the reformation (when 
Luther nailed his theses on the church door at Witten- 
berg.) By this the Protestants were stirred up to great- 
er devotion to their cause, and to greater hatred of the 
Catholics. The synod of Dort still further aided in in- 
tensifying religious feeling. The bigotry and persecu- 
tion of the Catholics hastened on the impending war. 
At the death of the Emperor Matthias, Frederick, as 
regent of the empire, threw down the gauntlet to the 
Hapsburgs, by opposing the election of their candidate 
for the German throne. But he was not able to hinder 
the election of Ferdinand as Emperor. The Bohemians 
refused to acknowledge Ferdinand as their Emperor and 
formally deposed him, electing Frederick instead. This 
placed him in opposition to the Emperor, for the Em- 
peror claimed jurisdiction over Bohemia, although the 
Bohemians claimed the right to elect their own king. 
Although urged to decline the election by many of his 



*For a picture of this garden, see the frontispiece. 



392 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

best statesmen, as the Duke of Anhalt, yet Frederick 
(mainly at the request of Scultetus, leader of the Re- 
formed Church of his day) accepted the position of king. 
Into the sad fortunes of the Winter King (for Frederick 
ruled only one short winter at Prague) we have no time 
to enter. Nor is this the place to describe the faithful- 
ness of the Electress Elizabeth in her trials and exile. 
Frederick, driven out of the Palatinate, died an exile, 
but the beautiful Elizabeth became the mother of kings. 
Her youngest daughter became the mother of King 
George I., of England, and the ancestress of the present 
Queen Victoria. Her granddaughter Elizabeth Char- 
lotte became the mother of the Duke of Orleans, which 
family held the regency of France under Louis XV. 
and ruled France in this century. Her daughter be- 
came the mother of the Duke of Lorraine, from whom 
the present royal family of Austria is descended. Ex- 
iled themselves, this princely pair through their children 
have ruled England, France and Austria. Thus the 
house of the Palatinate went down for a while during 
the Thirty Years 7 War, only to become the ancestor of 
kings, as it had been the founder of the Reformed Church 
in Germany. 



CHAPTER V.— SECTION II. 
The Synod of Dort. 

The synod of Dort was a synod of Holland, and not 
of Germany. But, as it was the outgrowth of the move- 
ment begun by the, Dutch refugees along the lower 
Rhine, as the German members of it affected its deci- 
sions and were in turn affected by it, and especially as 
it is a side light, that reveals the condition of the Church 
of Germany, an account of it will be interesting and 
profitable. 

The first General Synod of the Netherland churches 
was held at Antwerp in 1566. It was composed largely 
of delegates from Belgium, and it adopted the Belgic 
Confession, composed by Guido De Bres, the originator 
of the Reformed faith in the Netherlands. But the 
next year the Duke of Alva left loose his cruel soldiers 
on Holland, and the Protestants were driven out. For 
five or six years, the Dutch Reformed Church, as an or- * 
ganization, existed only on German soil. Its next synod 
was held at Wesel in 1568, followed by another synod at 
Emden in 1571. Persecution might drive it from its 
land, but it could not break up the organization of a 
Calvinistic Church. These refugee churches remained 
26 



394 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

in Germany until 1572, when the Hollanders began re- 
turning to their own land. So the next General Synod 
was held at Dort in 1574. The president of this synod 
was, however, from Germany, — Heidanus, a pastor in 
the Palatinate. The General Synod of Julich-Cleve- 
Berg remained in connection with this Dutch General 
Synod till 1610. Olevianus himself was present at the 
Dutch General Synod at Middleburg in 1581. The de- 
crees of this Middleburg synod had a marked effect on 
some of the German Churches, especially on the Nassau 
Reformed Church. 

A number of differences early began to appear in 
this ISTetherland Church, which prepared the way for 
the synod of Dort. These dissensions began to reveal 
themselves as early as the synod of Dort, in 1574. One 
of these differences was the same as appeared in the 
synod of Julich and. Cleve, — the difference between the 
secret and the open, national churches in the synod. 
The refugee churches, which had sacrificed all for the 
Gospel, had evolved a higher spiritual life and a stricter 
church discipline than the laxer Holland congregations, 
who had remained at home. When the refugees came 
back to Holland, they began to find fault with these 
national churches, for being formal in piety and lax in 
discipline. This distinction between secret and open 
churches, instead of fading out as they settled again in 
Holland, was perpetuated. For these secret churches 



DISSENSIONS IN HOLLAND. 



395 



were continued ; as the Belgian or French refugees 
dared not yet return to their land. So they continued 
to exist as individual churches in Holland, and became 
strict in theology and discipline, in contrast with the 
state churches, which were laxer in these matters. 
There was also a difference in races. These refugee 
churches were couiposed of Walloons, a hot-blooded 
race, who were very tenacious and decided in their ex- 
pression of doctrine or duty ; while the Hollanders were 
a slower, phlegmatic race. There was also a difference 
in their relations to the state ; for these French churches 
were not as much under the control of the state as the 
Holland churches. 

All these differences among the various congregations 
early led to dissensions on two points. The first was 
in regard to doctrine. The refugees who came back 
from Germany, had adopted the Belgic Confession and 
were strict Calvinists. The ministers who preached for 
the Walloon churches, were educated mainly at Geneva, 
under Calvin ; while the Holland churches rather inclined 
to Lasco, who was not quite so high a Calvinist in doc- 
trine. Indeed there were followers of Zwingli who were 
early found in Holland. The followers of Calvin were 
inclined to be strict and stiff in doctrine, while the fol- 
lowers of Zwingli were inclined to a more liberal inter- 
pretation of doctrine. 

A second difference that early revealed itself was in 
church government. Some wanted the state to govern 



396 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

the Church, others wanted the Church to be independent 
of the state. By law, each of the seven provinces had 
the right to control its own religious affairs.* Those 
who had been refugees, declared that the congregations 
were under the control of the classes and synods, and not 
under the state. The other party favored a modified 
Erastianism, by which the state controlled the Church. 

These were the small differences, which widened until 
ultimately a great division revealed itself in the Church. 
For while the Dutch Church was thus in the stage of 
formation and fermentation, there appeared a man des- 
tined to develop the germs of dissension. This was 
Jacob Arminius. 

Arminius was born in 1560, and was educated under 
strict Reformed influences at Utrecht, Marburg, Leyden 
and Geneva. In 1588 his popularity as a preacher had 
gained him such fame that he was appointed one of the 
ministers of Amsterdam. While pastor there, it seems 
that some ministers at Delft had publicly opposed predes - 
tination in a tract which adopted a milder view of the 
doctrine. Lydius, professor at Franeker (the leader of 
the high Calvinists of Holland), having a high opinion of 
Arminius, asked him to refute this tract of Koornhurst. 
But Arminius, instead of refuting it, adopted it, and in 
1591 he began preaching against high Calvinism. Still, 

*Prince William of Orange was at the head of the party, who 
urged the greatest independence of the church. 



HETERODOXY OF ARMINIUS. 



397 



in spite of his suspected heterodoxy, when Junius, pro- 
fessor of theology at Leyden, died in 1602, Arminius 
was elected to that position. His name was suggested 
for the place by Utenbogardus, the French preacher at 
The Hague, who sympathized with Arminius. But when 
his call to the professorship was laid before the Classis of 
Amsterdam, that body refused to put it into his hands 
or to dismiss him, until he had proved that he was or- 
thodox and Calvinistic in his belief. At length he was 
permitted to be dismissed, provided he would hold a 
conference with Gomarus, one of the professors at Ley- 
den, and thus remove from himself the odor of heter- 
odoxy. In this conference he solemnly disavowed the 
errors charged against him, and promised to teach noth- 
ing contrary to the doctrines of the Church. But he 
had not occupied his professor's chair long, before ru- 
mors appeared against him — that his scholars were in- 
clined to a new and laxer theology. He has even been 
charged with giving utterance to one set of opinions 
while lecturing officially as professor, and of circulating 
confidentially among his pupils a private manuscript 
which taught different doctrines. These rumors became 
so numerous against him, that the magistrates of Leyden 
called him to appear before them. But he refused to 
come, because, he said, the directors of the university 
had not given him permission. They did not do so be- 
cause they were in sympathy with him. The classis of 



398 THE REFORMED CHURCH OP GERMANY. 

Dort placed a complaint before the provincial synod of 
Leyden against him, but the directors of the university 
answered it by saying that while the students were in- 
clined to dispute with each other on doctrine, it was not 
the professors' fault that they did so. The deputies then 
asked that the professors be required to sign anew the 
Belgic confession, but the directors declared that that 
was not necessary. As they were pressed to take some 
action in the matter, the directors answered that it would 
be better to let matters rest until a national synod was 
called. Thus, though attempts were made to bring Ar- 
minius' case before the church courts, the matter was 
always evaded. Armiuius was never ready. But in 
the meantime he was imbuing the minds of his scholars 
with doctrines prejudicial to orthodoxy. 

And now there appeared another difference between 
the ministers of the Netherland Church, which revealed 
the growing spirit of Arminianism. The Arminians 
wanted the Heidelberg catechism and the Belgic confess- 
ion, the creeds of the Church, to be revised. They claimed 
that as these were framed by fallible men, they should 
be subject to revision, so as to meet the spirit of the 
times and of theological inquiry. But the Calvinistic 
party opposed any revision very bitterly. They held 
that while these creeds were not equal to the Bible in 
authority, yet they were authoritative, as they had been 
adopted by the Church ; and ought, therefore, to be 



SUBSCRIPTION TO CREEDS. 



399 



signed by all candidates at their entrance on the min- 
istry. The Arminians urged that the Church needed a 
creed framed not in theological, but in Biblical lan- 
guage — that the creed should be drawn up with refer- 
ence to practical life, while liberty should be allowed 
for speculation in doctrine. It was the question of 
the revision of, and subscription to, creeds, which 
was now beginning to loom up in church history. 
Had the views of the Arminians prevailed, they would 
have wrecked the faith of the Church, just as lax sub- 
scription did the Presbyterian Church of England in 
the last century, and as it has done in Holland in this 
century. 

In the meantime dissensions between the Arminians 
and Calvinists broke out here and there in different parts 
of the Church. The controversy which had at first been 
carried on in Latin, and been confined to the learned, 
soon got to the ears of the common people. The classis 
of Alcmar resolved that all its ministers should sign the 
Heidelberg catechism, and the Belgic Confession. Five 
ministers, who refused to do so, were suspended by the 
classis. These ministers then appealed to the state au- 
thorities to reinstate them. This brought up the ques- 
tion how far the state had authority to control the Church. 
The Arminians naturally favored state authority, while 
the Calvinists opposed it. The state of Hrlland ordered 
that while an investigation was in progress, the minis- 



400 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

ters be allowed to perform their functions. This was 
contrary to all church law. The classis declared that 
the state had no right to interfere, and the synod of North 
Holland upheld the classis. The result was that the 
state authorities could do nothing to secure the return of 
these ministers to their positions. Thus another differ- 
ance begins to appear between the Arminians and the 
Calvinists. The Arminians believed in the union of 
state and Church. The Calvinists believed in the auton- 
omy of the Church and her independence of the state in 
the management of her own affairs. It was the old ques- 
tion whether the Church should be the servant of the 
state, or the state the servant of the Church. The old 
difference between Zwinglianism and Calvinism in 
church government arose again. The battle between 
Erastus and Olevianus had to be fought over again in 
Holland. Laxity of doctrine and discipline are always 
followed by low views of the Church. The Arminians 
were the first to appeal to the civil power for help. 
Afterward, at the Synod of Dort, they were the first to 
suffer from the civil authorities. Like the Donatists, 
they appealed to the very power that condemned therm 
They were the first to propose waiting for a national 
synod. But it was their enemies who arranged for the 
synod and carried it out. Their enemies used their 
weapons against them. The Arminians had the aid of 
the civil authorities at first. They had the ear of the 



THE REMONSTRANCE. 



401 



States General of Holland, which finally ordered a con- 
ference between Gomarus and Arminius, on the 14th of 
May, 1608. In this conference Arminius wanted Go- 
marus to appear as complainant against him, and desired 
that the States General should be his judges. He was 
thus sure of his vindication, as the States General were 
friendly to him. But Gomarus declared that a national 
synod alone could decide. The conference indeed took 
place, at The Hague in 1609, but Arminius died before 
it ended, on the 19th of October, 1609. 

But his cause did not die with him. The strife only 
increased. After his death, Arminianism more fully 
developed itself. Arminius at first probably meant 
that he did not believe in unconditional election or a 
limited atonement, but by the time of his death he had 
far passed these limits. After his death, his disciples, 
led by Episcopius, passed the limits of his belief. The 
result was that in 1610 the Arminians organized them- 
selves into a party in the Church, and presented to the 
two states of Holland and Friesland an address consist- 
ing of five articles, which was called a Remonstrance. 
It was drawn up by Utenbogardus, and signed by forty- 
six ministers. Their aim, in presenting this remon- 
strance to the civil authorities, was to gain the favor of 
the government and to secure its protection against the 
ceusure of the Church, to which they were exposed. 
After this, from this remonstrance, the Arminians 



402 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

were called Remonstrants. The Calvinists afterwards 
prepared a counter Remonstrance, which revealed the 
five points of Calvinism. The Synod of Dort in 1616 
gave such a deliverance.* 

And now another difficulty arose. The authorities 
of the university of Leyden chose as successor to Ar- 
minius the learned Vorstius, professor at Steinfurt in 
Germany. But Vorstius had already been charged 
with the heresy of Socinianism. The Arminians had 
by this time so far declined from orthodoxy as to elect 
such a man. The professors at Heidelberg university 
at once sent a protest against Vorstius, calling attention 
to his heresy. They said that to call him into the 
already fermenting Netherland Church would be like 
extinguishing fire by pouring on oil. But the greatest 
foe of Vorstius appeared in King James L of England. 
James prided himself on the title (given to him at that 
time) of " the defender of the faith." He had read 
Vorstius 7 book concerning the nature of God, and he 
demanded the recall of his election to Leyden. He 
boiled over with indignation, and threatened to break 
off all confederacy with Holland, if such a man were 

*" While this synod declines to give an express sanction to the 
supralapsarian views of Gomarus, it declares its judgment in 
opposition to the Arminians, and puts forth by way of antithe- 
sis what have been called the five points of Calvinism— uncon- 
ditional election, limited atonement, impotency of the will, ir- 
resistible grace and perseverance of the saints."' Fisher's His- 
tory of the Reformation, 473. 



CONTINUED DISSENSIONS. 



403 



allowed to teach such heresy. Some one says that 
James in this matter showed the only ebullition of valor 
he was ever known to betray. He threatened, not only 
to write, but to fight, if Vorstius were allowed to stay 
in Holland. The election of Vorstius was the first 
mistake of the Remonstrants, and his dismissal their 
first defeat. For in calling him, they made enemies of 
the Reformed theologians of Germany, and they felt 
this hostility of the Germans afterwards in the synod 
of Dort. But although Vorstius was not permitted to 
accept the position, Episcopius, the leader of the Remon- 
strants, was elected to the professorship ; so that they vir- 
tually gained what they desired — liberty to teach their 
doctrines. 

In the meantime dissensions arose everywhere in Hol- 
land between the Remonstrants and the Calvinists. The 
Remonstrants appealed to the civil authorities to help 
them against the Calvinists. Geselius, a minister of Rot- 
terdam and a Calvinist, as he could not consort with the 
Remonstrants, began holding meetings in the villages 
around. So the city authorities, instigated by the Re- 
monstrants, banished him from the villages. Roseus, 
for refusing to commune or preach with the Remon- 
strants, was suspended. He then preached in the vil- 
lages, and afterwards in The Hague, in a church, which 
was attended by Prince Maurice of Orange and other 
leaders. The Remonstrants called this act of Roseus 



404 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

schism. The Calvinists were fined, imprisoned and ban- 
ished, and when they appealed, the Remonstrants inter- 
dicted the appeal. Orthodox preachers were driven away, 
as at Cambden. The Calvinists have been charged with 
persecuting in this controversy, but they do not seem to 
have begun the persecution, nor did they persecute as 
much as the Remonstrants did. The Remonstrants were 
pushing their schemes, so as to gain the control of the 
whole land, when suddenly affairs took a different turn. 
The Remonstrants had almost gained the day, when a 
breach took place between Barneveld and Prince Mau- 
rice. Maurice was aristocratic and hoped to see his house, 
the family of Orange and its heirs, at the head of the 
government. Barneveld was a republican and aimed at 
preserving the authority of the states against Maurice. 
Maurice now threw his fortunes actively with the Cal- 
vinists. He said : " I know no predestination. To me 
it is the same, whether it is gray or blue. But this I 
know, that between Barneveld's piping and my own, 
there is a shrieking discord." The family of Orange had 
always been closely allied to Calvinism, and Maurice, in 
thus taking up their cause, was only treading in the 
footsteps of William the Silent. But he also saw in this 
religious controversy, an opportunity by which he might 
overthrow his opponent, Barneveld. So while Barne- 
veld had been aiding the Remonstrants, Maurice threw 
in his fortunes with the Calvinists. And thus political 



MAURICE AIDS THE CALVINISTS. 405 



strife was added to theological. Thus the arm of the 
state, which the Remonstrants had called to their aid, 
was now used against them to their fall. As Amster- 
dam, Dort and other places, opposed Bar ne veld's tolera- 
tion edict, Maurice aided them. Thus the whole of the 
Netherlands was in commotion, citizen against citizen, 
city against city. The common people, the ministers, 
the ecclesiastical organizations of classes and synods were 
on the side of the Calvinists. The educated people, the 
magistrates of the cities, and the senates of several of the 
provinces were Remonstrant. Maurice prohibited his 
troops from aiding the city magistrates in quelling re- 
ligious disturbances. This was a move by Maurice to 
aid the Calvinists ; for it deprived the Remonstrants of 
the use of the troops in order to oppress the Calvinists. 
The Remonstrant city authorities then became suspicious 
of Maurice and levied city troops to aid the magistrates. 
They did this at Utrecht, where there was already a gar- 
rison sufficient for defense, and also at Harlem, Leyden, 
Rotterdam and elsewhere They thus seemed to be 
forming a body of troops against the troops of the na- 
tional government, who were under Maurice's com- 
mand. Prince Maurice then became persuaded that this 
levy of city troops was for the purpose of annihilating 
his authority ; so he began to change the city officials, so 
that they might give him control of the cities. He thus 
aided the Calvinists. 



406 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



The provinces of Zeeland, Friesland and Groningen 
were entirely Calvinistic ; Guelderland and Oberyssel 
were two-thirds Calvinistic, Holland one-third Calvin- 
istic, and Utrecht entirely Remonstrant. The first three 
provinces demanded a national synod, to settle the dis- 
sensions, and bring peace and unity to the land. (The 
Calvinists had all along appealed to the Church, and 
not the state, for the final decision.) And now we see 
the subterfuges of the Remonstrants. They at first 
wanted a synod to be called, so as to settle the disputes. 
But now they protest against it. Two provinces, Hol- 
land and Oberyssel, protested against a synod. But in 
spite of their protests, the remaining provinces decided 
it should be held. They declared that the objects for 
which the synod was held, were — first, to examine into 
the exact teachings of the Remonstrants ; second, to an- 
swer them, and also to give a deliverance as to what 
was the true Reformed faith ; third, to sentence those 
who might be guilty of heresy. The place chosen for 
the holding of the synod was Dort, a city of sacred as- 
sociations, where the first national synod had been held 
after the return of the refugees from Germany. They 
at first intended to Itold a synod of only the Netherland 
churches, but at the suggestion of King James I. of 
England, they determined to invite foreign delegates to 
it. They did this the more willingly, as the Remon- 
strants did not seem to pay any attention to the au- 



FOREIGN CHURCHES INVITED. 407 



thority of the Netherland synods, for they said these 
were not true Reformed synods. The presence and ad- 
vice of the foreign Reformed delegates would give 
weight to the decisions of the synod ; and would also 
reveal whether the Netherland Church was a true Re- 
formed Church. So the States General invited the 
Reformed Churches of England and Scotland, France, 
the Palatinate, Brandenberg, Hesse, Nassau, East Fries- 
land, the four Swiss cantons of Berne, Zurich, Basle and 
Schaffhausen, the Wetterau counties of Nassau and 
Hanau, and the free cities of Geneva, Bremen and Em- 
den, to send delegates to the synod. Anhalt was not 
invited, as the Hollanders seemed to doubt whether she 
was orthodox enough on the Reformed faith. The synod 
of Dort was really a national synod of the Netherlands ; 
but the foreign deputies advised and voted with the na- 
tive members. All of the states and cities invited sent 
delegates, except France and Brandenberg. The dele- 
gates of France, Chauve du Moulin, professor at Sedan, 
Rivet, Chamier, professor at Montauban, were on the 
way to the synod, when an order from King Louis 
XIII. of France compelled them to return ; as he did 
not want them to form any union with foreign Re- 
formed Churches that might strengthen them in his own 
land. The invitation to Brandenberg was sent later 
than to the rest. The Elector of Brandenberg, who had 
recently come into the Reformed Church, was very anx- 



408 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ious to be represented at the synod, so as to reveal his 
adherence to the Reformed faith. He appointed Pelar- 
gus and Bergius, his professors at Frankford, as his 
delegates. But they did not go. Pelargus declined, 
because of his age, and because the near approach of 
winter made travelling dangerous. Bergius declined, 
because Pelargus refused, and also because of the late- 
ness of the invitation. It has also been suggested that 
they did not go to Dort, for fear of offending the Lu- 
theran people of Brandenberg, who had already shown 
their fanaticism by riots. But though these delegates 
did not arrive, there were twenty-eight foreign delegates 
present. Prominent among them were Scultetus, the 
court preacher of the Elector of the Palatinate, and 
Breitinger, the successor of Zwingli at Zurich, as well 
as the Bishop of Llandaff of England.* 

There were present at the synod three Palatines — 
Scultetus, Tossanus, and Alting, professor of Heidelberg 
university ; four Hessians — Stein, the court preacher of 
Landgrave Maurice ; Cruciger, rector of the university 
of Marburg ; Angel ocrater, and Goclenius, professor at 

*We thus see that the bishops of the Anglican Church recog- 
nized the Reformed Church of the continent (which had no bish- 
ops) as a true Church of Christ, and as a sister Reformed Church. 
Those Episcopalian bishops sat with ordinary ministers as 
equals, a significant and severe hint to the high church Episco- 
palians of our day. Bishop Hall of England said in his Ireni- 
con : " Blessed be God, there is no difference on any essential 
point between the Church of England and her sister Reformed 
Churches." 



FOKEIGN DELEGATES. 



409 



Marburg ; five Swiss — Breitinger, antistes at Zurich ; 
Rutimeyer of Berne, Beck and Mayer of Basle, and 
Koch of Schaffhausen ; three from Nassau — Alsted, 
professor at Herborn ; Bisterfield, of Siegen ; Fabricius, 
of Hanau ; two from Geneva — Deodati and Tronchin, 
professors of theology ; three from Bremen — Martinius, 
professor of theology in the gymnasium ; Isselberg and 
Crocius ; two from Emden — Eilsheim and Grimers- 
heim. The English delegates chosen by King James 
I. were — Carleton, bishop of Llandaff ; Davenant, after- 
wards bishop of Salisbury ; Samuel Ward, afterwards 
professor at Cambridge ; Joseph Hall, afterwards bish- 
op of Exeter and Norwich (bishop Hall had to return 
before the close of the synod, on account of ill health. 
His place was filled by Thomas Goad, of St. Paul's ca- 
thedral, London) ; and Walter Balcanquall, the Scotch 
chaplain of the King, who represented the Scotch 
Churches. The Dutch delegates included such men as 
Professors Polyander, Lubertus, and Gomarus. 

There were altogether eighty-four delegates, of 
whom twenty-eight were foreigners, thirty six were 
ministers of Holland, and the rest Dutch elders. There 
were also eighteen commissioners of the States General 
of Holland present at each of the sessions, to see that 
the business was properly transacted, and to note the 
decisions of the synod. Each provincial synod elected 
six delegates, of whom two were elders. The French 
27 



410 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



churches scattered through the Netherlands, who formed 
a synod of their own, did as the provincial synods had 
done — elected six delegates. (The president and secre- 
tary of the various synods were generally chosen among 
the delegates.) In the province of Utrecht there were 
only five Calvinistic ministers. They formed a synod 
of their own and elected two delegates, leaving the Re- 
monstrants of that province to elect the rest of the rep- 
resentatives. Only three Remonstrants were elected to 
the synod by all the synods of the Netherlands. After 
a day of prayer throughout all the land, the synod of 
Dort opened on the 13th of November, 1618. It was 
opened with divine service at 8 A. M., in both the 
Dutch and the French languages. Lydius, the Dutch 
minister of Dort, preached in the great church on the 
synod at Jerusalem. Pours of Middleburg preached to 
the French in the Augustine's church. After the ser- 
mon, the delegates withdrew to the Doel, a guild hall, 
which was used for public meetings, although it had 
originally been built to be a drill hall.* The first ses- 

*See picture of Synod of Dort. The officers of the synod sat 
at a centre table at the upper end of the room, the president 
with his face to the door, the vice-presidents at his right, the 
secretaries at his left. Along the side of the room, to the right 
of the president, and to the left of the picture, were the commis- 
sioners of the States General. ' Opposite them, to the left of the 
president, were the British delegates ; then the vacant seats as- 
signed to the French delegates. In the next tier of seats were 
the Swiss, Hessian and Palatinate delegates occupying the 
three seats in the order named. In the next tier of seats, to the 
left of the president and nearer the entrance, were the Bremen, 
the Genevan, and then the Wetterau delegates, occupying the 



ORGANIZATION OF THE SYNOD. 411 



sion was opened by an address of welcome by Lydius. 
For the sake of the foreign delegates, the Latin lan- 
guage was used, which was rather a trial to the state's 
commissioners, and to some of the elders, who under- 
stood only Dutch. The synod, through the influence of 
Count Lewis of Nassau, a strict Calvinist, elected Bo- 
german of Leuwaarden as president, and also elected 
two vice-presidents and two secretaries. The commis- 
sioners of the States General also had their own presi- 
dent, Gregory, and secretary. On all questions the vote 
was taken by provinces. The rule of judgment was or- 
dered to be the Bible. The Belgic Confession was not 
made the norm of judgment, as some have held ; but 
the Bible. The first session was taken up in receiving 
the credentials and administering the oath to the mem- 
bers. The chief question before the body was the re- 
lation of the Remonstrants to the synod. There were 

three seats in the order named. On the right of the president, 
and in the tier of seats opposite to the Bremen delegates, but 
along the wall, were the five theological professors of the Nether- 
lands. The rest of the seats were occupied by the delegates from 
the Netherlands in the order of the rank of their provinces. The 
Remonstrants, when they appeared before the synod, had their 
seats at a centre table in the middle of the room, just in front of 
the president's table. Each delegate found at his seat a pen and 
a candle, the former for the purpose of taking notes, the latter 
for light ; for in winter the days are very short in Holland, and 
the sessions of the synod were often protracted until after it was 
dark. It is a very quaint looking assembly as revealed by the 
picture. The sessions were public, except when the doors were 
closed for secret session. There was usually quite a crowd of 
spectators standing near the door, among them even Jesuits. 



412 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



only three Remonstrant delegates ; but the smallness of 
their number was largely their own fault. They had 
not only labored to prevent the synod ; but, as for in- 
stance in the synod at Delft, they had declared they 
would not send delegates to it. At the fourth session, 
the synod decided to cite thirteen of the Remonstrants 
(Episcopius among them),* to appear before them within 
fourteen days, that they might explain their views and 
prove the five Remonstrant articles, in which they dif- 
fered from the rest of the Church. 

Until the appearance of the thirteen Remonstrants, 
the synod was not idle, but busied itself about matters of 
importance for the Church. A new translation of the 
Bible was ordered. For the Dutch Bible at that time 
was only a transfer of Luther's German Bible into the 
Dutch language — a translation of a translation ; and so 
a new Bible was needed to purge it from mistakes. f A 
committee of six theologians was appointed to complete 
and perfect the translation, which finally appeared in 
1637. It was a master piece ; and as the Staats Bible, it 
is in use to-day in Holland. The synod also discussed 
the subject of catechization. The representatives from 

*These persons were chosen by the Remonstrants in the 
synod. The Remonstrants in the synod, instead of being treated 
as intruders and heretics, had their rights, as members, re- 
spected. 

fThis Dutch Bible was begun in 1594, by Van Marnix, Lord 
of St. Aldegonde. Owing to the severity of Catholics against 
Bible translations, it was printed in a ship. 



EPISCOPIUS APPEARS. 



413 



foreign lands described how catechization was carried on 
in their own countries. The last Netherland synod had 
ordered catechetical preaching, but it had only been par- 
tially carried out. This synod urged greater attention 
on the part of parents, teachers and pastors to catechiza- 
tion, especially for three or four weeks before a commun- 
ion season. The baptism of heathen children, the pre- 
paration of candidates for the ministry and the abuses of 
printing were then discussed. 

In the twenty-second session, about the first of De- 
cember, Episcopius and the Remonstrants appeared. As 
most of them had opposed the synod, it was doubted 
at Dort whether they would appear at ail ; so their com- 
ing made quite a sensation. When they appeared, it 
seems that Episcopius, without waiting for the proper 
formalities, proceeded to make an eloquent, but caustic 
address against those who had opposed the Remonstrants. 
For his boldness he was severely rebuked by the presi- 
dent. The Remonstrants were asked to submit their 
theological opinions to the synod. They wanted the ref- 
utation of Calvir : ~m to be taken up first, and then the 
statement of the ^lief. The synod very properly or- 
dered the opposite r'They hoped that by taking up rep- 
robation first, they might excite the sympathy of the 
foreign delegates. They then asked for time to prepare, 
but their request was not granted, as they already had 
had all the time they needed for preparation. At the 



414 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



twenty-fifth session, the Remonstrants asked that only 
the foreigners might sit as their judges, as this national 
synod was schismatic. (They visited the foreign delegates 
diligently, hoping to enlist them on their side. Episco- 
pius with two others, visited the Bishop of Llandaff on 
the 25th of January, hoping to incline him to them. 
He refused to listen to them, and told them they should 
not build their hopes on men, but on the worthiness of 
their cause.) The synod answered that it was not schis- 
matic, but was constituted in the regularly appointed 
way by the election of delegates from each of the synods. 
The synod tried to get them to express their doctrinal 
opinions in writing. But the Remonstrants again and 
again postponed doing so. Finally, though still pro- 
testing against the authority of the synod, they gave their 
opinion against the five points of Calvinism. The synod 
then demanded of them a declaration concerning the 
Heidelberg catechism and the Belgic confession. They 
were allowed four days in which to prepare their reply. 
They replied that these standards of the Church needed 
revision. When they made this sug ^tion, the Palati- 
nate delegates rose up in defense of dir favorite, the 
Heidelberg catechism, and bitterly opposed any change in 
it. And to the Palatines the commissioners of the States 
General joined their voices. In the fifty-seventh ses- 
sion the Remonstrants were dismissed, but were ordered 
not to leave Dort until synod rendered a decision. 



DIFFERENCES IN THE SYNOD. 415 



Their defense having been made, synod then pro- 
ceeded to sit in judgment on the Remonstrants and their 
doctrines. The synod then proceeded to a consideration 
of the five points of Calvinism, so as to answer the Re- 
monstrants and pass judgment on them. In the sixty- 
first session, the synod decided not only to answer the 
Remonstrants, but also to give expression to decrees 
stating the orthodox Calvinistic doctrines. The re- 
mainder of the time, from the 17th of January to the 
23rd of April, was spent in the preparation of the 
decrees. But, while the synod was unanimously opposed 
to the doctrines and tactics of the Remonstrants, yet they 
were not so united in positive statements of doctrine. 
There was so much difference of opinion in the synod 
that it held secret sessions, so as to allow a fuller inter- 
change of opinion. There were three grades of Calvin- 
ism apparent in the synod — supralapsarianism, infralap- 
sarianism and sublapsarianism.* 

*The differences between these various grades of Calvinism 
are described by arranging the decrees of God in their order as 
given by these different schools :— supralapsarian : election, cre- 
ation, sin, redemption, reprobation ; infralapsarian : creation, 
election, sin, redemption, pretention ; sublapsarian : creation, 
sin, election, redemption. The supralapsarian held that election 
was the first great aim of all things. God elected men in order 
that he might then create them to be saved or lost, as he pleased. 
The infralapsarians held that the great aim of God was creation, 
and that having created men, God then chose men to be saved or 
lost. The sublapsarians held that the great aim of God was re- 
demption. They especially insisted that Christ's atonement 
was universal, over against the limited atonement views of the 
others,— that Christ died for all men, and not only for the elect. 



416 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

In the synod there was a small, but influential party 
of Supralapsarians, led by Gomarus and the president 
of the synod, and patronized by Count Lewis of Nas- 
sau. The great body of the Dutch delegates were infra- 
lapsarian. Many of the foreign delegates were sublap- 
sarian. Gomarus desired that the synod should give 
expression to high Calvinistic decrees as the doctrine of 
the Church. This brought him into a heated argument 
with Martinius, who wished a mild expression of Cal- 
vinism. Ward and the Palatinate delegates had a sim- 
ilar contest. Martinius with the Bremen delegates, the 
Nassau deputies, and the Hessian members, except 
Stein, were sublapsarian. The English delegation was 
divided. The Bishop of Llandaff, Hall and Balcanquall 
were infralapsarian, but Davenant and Ward were out- 
spoken Sublapsarians. The Palatinate, Swiss and 
Friesland delegates were supralapsarian or infralapsa- 
rian. So much division of sentiment was revealed in 
the synod that finally a representative commission was 
appointed to draft its decrees. This commission con- 
sisted of the president with three Dutch and three for- 
eign delegates. On this commission was Llandaff, and 
probably Breitinger. From the 25th of March to the 
16th of April they labored at this matter. They drew 
up the decrees, which by taking the middle ground of 
Infralapsarianism, harmonized all differences, and were 
acceptable to all parties in the synod. These canons 
were read and approved in the 136th session. They 



THE CANONS OF DORT. 



417 



were then signed by all the delegates. It is perfectly 
evident, as all parties in the synod were willing to sign 
the decrees, that liberty was allowed in the interpreta- 
tion of them. Although the decrees were infralapsarian, 
yet the Sublapsarians were allowed to interpret them 
according to their views. The canons of Dort, although 
they are strictly Calvinistic, allow liberty for different 
grades of Calvinism. 

Nothing now remained to be done, but to pass judg- 
ment on the Remonstrants. The English and Hessian 
delegates were not in favor of taking any action against 
them personally, by forbidding them to preach or hold 
office in the Netherlands. They claimed that the con- 
demnation of their doctrines was sufficient, and that there 
was no need of the condemnation of their persons. But 
the rest of the synod approved of the condemnation of 
the Remonstrants. The synod, therefore, ordered that 
the Remonstrants be excommunicated from the Church 
and displaced from their positions. These canons of 
Dort, with the acts of the synod, were sent to the States 
General, and ratified by them, July 2, 1619.* 

*The original manuscript of the synod of Dort is in the pos- 
sion of the States General of Holland, and is inspected every 
three years by deputies chosen for that purpose. In the month 
of May, twenty-two delegates from the synod repair to The 
Hague, where two delegates from the secular government meet 
them. The chest, containing the decrees, is opened by eight 
different keys and contains the acts of the synod, bound in sev- 
enteen volumes. These are shown to the delegates. This cere- 
mony is preceded and followed by prayer, after which the re- 
presentatives dine together. 



418 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Ill the 146-148th sessions, the synod endorsed the 
Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession. As 
the Remonstrants had raised objections to the Heidel- 
berg Catechism, the Palatinate delegates requested 
that the synod should examine and pass its decision 
upon that book. All the questions and answers were 
read aloud and votes taken on them. This led to a 
unanimous endorsement, except that the English dele- 
gates declared they did not agree to the figurative ex- 
planation of Christ's descent into hell by the catechism. 
(The synod did not examine the objections of the Re- 
monstrants to the catechism j but left it to the Palatin- 
ate theologians to vindicate their book.) 

At the 154th session, the synod repaired to the great 
church of Dort, where the canons were read in the pres- 
ence of a large audience, and a sermon preached by 
Lydius, on Isaiah 12 : 1-3. A final meeting was then 
held, at which the States General thanked the delegates 
for their labors. Then, with handshakings, and not 
without tears, the members of the synod bade each other 
farewell. Thus ended this celebrated synod. It was 
in session for six months, from the 13th of November, 
1618, to the 9th of May, 1619. 

The synod cost the states of Holland 500,000 dol- 
lars, or one million gulden ; the Bishop of LlandafF re- 
ceiving eighteen gulden per day. It was an expensive 
synod, but it harmonized the Netherlands, and prepared 



MIRROR OF THE GERMAN CHURCH. 419 



them for their later struggles for liberty. The decrees 
of the synod evidently reveal the influence of the for- 
eign delegates ; for their advice and their votes modified 
to some extent the ultra position and bitter personalities 
of the Netherlander. Their influence also modified the 
expression of Calvinism in the decrees. 

This synod is interesting to us, because it revealed, 
as in a mirror, the theological position of the Reformed 
Church of Germany. For the leaders of the German 
churches were there, and they may be supposed to rep- 
resent the religious position of the various states of Ger- 
many. Bremen under Martin ius, Marburg under Go- 
clenius, and Herborn under Piscator, were sublapsarian, 
and believed in the universality of the atonement ; 
while Heidelberg, Friesland, and the lower Rhine, to- 
gether with German and French Switzerland, were high 
Calvinists. Thus high Calvinism had attained a place 
in Germany, though not a place in her creed, which is 
moderately Calvinistic. Indeed, the freedom with 
which the German delegates took part in this synod, 
and their close fellowship with the Hollanders, reveals 
the intimate relations existing between the Reformed 
Churches of these two lands. They met and counselled 
and aided each other as brethren in the Reformed faith. 
Their soldiers had fought side by side in many a battle 
for Protestantism. Their theologians also stood side by 
side in the synod. 



420 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

As an illustration of the prominent part that the 
Germans took in this synod, we would note the fol- 
lowing : 

Scultetus, as the oracle of the Reformed Church of 
Germany and the court preacher of the great Elector 
of the Palatinate, was early given a prominent part in 
the synod. It was customary, in connection with the 
synod, to have sermons preached by its prominent mem- 
bers. On the 15th of December, Scultetus gave an ex- 
position of the 122d Psalm, which made a deep impres- 
sion. And on the 28th of December, he delivered an 
address on the " Certainty of Grace," in which he re- 
vealed his great oratorical abilities. On the 1st of Jan- 
uary, as the church at Zurich was celebrating the 
centennial of the introduction of the reformation by 
Zwingli, the whole synod joined in its celebration at 
Dort, the proceedings being presided over by Breiting- 
er, the successor of Zwingli. On the 9th of January, 
Bisterfield, from Nassau, died. He was honored by 
the attendance of the whole synod at his funeral. On 
the 29th of January, Alting, professor at Heidelberg 
university, made an address on the doctrine of Repro- 
bation, which surpassed all others in the range of knowl- 
edge, and the profundity of thought that it revealed. 
On the 1st of February, Cruciger, rector of Marburg 
university, spoke on the " Extent of the Atonement." 
But, celebrated man though he was, his address was a 



t 

INFLUENCE OF THE GEEMANS. 421 

disappointment to all, as he was hardly able to read it 
in the dim light of the room. On the 6th of February, 
Stein, court preacher of the Landgrave of Hesse, (who 
was a strong Calvinist, and very severe against the Re- 
monstrants), spoke on the " Irresistibility of Grace 
and on the 15th of the same month, Alsted, professor 
of Herborn university, spoke on the same topic. On 
the 19th of February occurred a bitter controversy on 
the floor of synod between Gomarus of Leyden and Mar- 
tinius of Bremen. Gomarus rudely attacked Martinius, 
making some remarks that reflected on him. And un- 
fortunately, Bogerman, the president, came to the aid of 
Gomarus. The feeling ran so high that the Bremen 
delegates prepared to leave Dort, and go home. But 
the English delegates, especially the Bishop of Llandaff, 
who was a peacemaker, reconciled the parties. Still for 
a while Martinius did not attend the sessions of the 
synod. The disagreement was, however, not a theolog- 
ical one, but a personal one between Martinius, and Go- 
marus and the president of the synod. On the 5th of 
March, Martinius again appeared, taking the place of 
Deodati, who was sick, and delivered an address on " The 
Person of Christ." And on the 20th of March, Crocius, 
another of the Bremen delegates, made an address on 
" J ustification." These Bremen delegates, although their 
views were more liberal about Calvinism, yet signed the 
canons of Dort. 



I 

422 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

There were other events that transpired in the synod 
which reveal the influence of the German delegates in that 
body, (Two-thirds of the foreign delegates and one-fifth 
of the members of the synod were Germans.) Scultetus 
and the Bishop of Llandaff seem to have been the most 
influential foreigners there, for the president would al- 
ways give way to them. Indeed, all the way through, 
the English and Palatinate delegates acted very much 
in harmony, because the families of their rulers were in- 
termarried. These facts reveal the intimate relations 
between the Dutch and German theologians, and the in- 
terest the Germans had in the synod. And although it 
was a Dutch synod, and its decisions were carried out 
only in Holland, yet the Germans were partially respon- 
sible for its decrees, and felt its influence in their lands. 

The history of this synod also reveals the character 
of the Arminians and Remonstrants. From the be- 
ginning they were evasive and contradictory. They first 
asked the state to help them, and then they turned 
against the state authority • perhaps because they saw 
the state was against them. They first suggested the 
idea of a national synod, and when one was appointed, 
they refused to recognize its authority. And then they 
contradicted this position by appearing before the synod. 
They seemed to have no decided principles of action. 
They were not persecuted at the synod, as some have 
charged, but their trial was fair and open. The severity 



RESULTS ON THE REMONSTRANTS. 423 



of its decision they brought on themselves, by their 
evasions and their opposition. The Remonstrants were 
driven out of Holland. Barneveld lost his head. Gro- 
tius escaped from prison through a device of his wife. 
(It is a mistake to charge these to the synod of Dort. 
For the synod sent one of its ministers, Professor 
Walaus, to strengthen and prepare Barneveld for death.) 

These events were the result of political rivalries be- 
tween Maurice and Barneveld, rather than of religious 
quarrels. The teaching of Remonstrant doctrines was 
forbidden in Holland. Many of the Remonstrants fled 
to the Spanish Netherlands. But when Frederick 
Henry, the brother of Maurice, succeeded him ; he fa- 
vored the Remonstrants, and allowed them to return 
again to Holland. In 1630, they were allowed to build 
a church in Amsterdam. But the Remonstrants never 
exerted much influence after the death of Episcopius. 
They soon drifted to Socinianism. Episcopius neared 
Arianism. Brenius, his scholar, became an anti-trini- 
tarian. They now number, after an existence of two 
hundred and fifty years, only twenty congregations and 
five thousand members, and are declining. Their larg- 
est congregation is at Rotterdam and is composed of six 
hundred members. 

This synod has been praised or censured, according 
to the standpoint of the observer. Marti nius, in his later 
years, said : " O Dort, would God I had never seen 



424 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

thee \" But far otherwise was the general testimony of 
the delegates. Bishop Hall, when compelled to return 
to England on account of ill health, said : " There is no 
place on earth so like heaven as the synod of Dort." 
Breitinger, the great light of the Swiss churches, was 
astonished at the learning of the Dutch delegates, and 
said that if ever the Holy Spirit was present in a 
council, He was present at Dort. Scultetus thanked 
God that he had been a member of the synod, and said 
the synod was elevated as high as heaven above all other 
meetings of the kind. " Here God's judgment was 
heard, there men's statutes and papist decrees." (He 
probably referred to the Catholic council of Trent ; and, 
setting the synod of Dort over against it, contrasted the 
two, to the credit of Dort.) The Basle delegates, Koch 
and Mayer, always uncovered their heads, when the 
synod was mentioned, and the latter called Dort " the 
holy city, the heavenly Dort." There is no doubt that 
some bitter things were said in the heat of the theological 
controversy of that age. But a calm judgment of the 
synod must be, that it did its work constitutionally and 
fairly. It certainly proved to be a great blessing to 
Holland, in giving to it peace and spirituality. 

The canons of Dort had very much the same effect 
on the Reformed Church that the Formula of Concord 
had on the Lutheran Church. They crystallized its 
theology, and brought out most clearly its definitions 



RESULTS OF THE SYNOD. 425 

and logical relations. But it is a significant sign (and 
this reveals the more liberal spirit of the Reformed 
Church) that its decrees did not excommunicate the Lu- 
therans, as the Lutherans had, the Reformed in the 
Formula of Concord. The Lutherans, all through this 
controversy, sympathized with the Remonstrants, and 
were opposed to the canons of Dort. They were under 
the false impression that the condemnation of Armin- 
ianism was aimed at them. But this was not true ; in- 
deed it could not be, for the delegates from England 
were charged by the King to see that the synod took no 
action that would offend the Lutherans. 

This synod, whether we consider its length, or the 
number of Churches or nations represented, or the abil- 
ity of the delegates, was one of the most remarkable in 
the history of the Church ; certainly in the history of 
the Protestant Church. It was the only time that the 
various continental Churches came together in a synod ; 
and it exerted a wide influence on all the Reformed 
nations. 



28 



CHAPTER V.— SECTION III. 



A Summary. 

From the history as revealed in the preceding pages, 
it is evident that Germany, in the sixteenth century, 
passed through a crisis. It was a great religious up- 
heaval. A great reformation took place in a part of the 
German Church — a reformation in doctrine, custom and 
government. It was a new reformation — a second Prot- 
estantism. The Germans took another step farther from 
Romanism, and nearer to Christ and the Bible. They 
threw aside the remaining fragments of Romanism that 
still existed in the Protestant Church, such as exorcism, 
wafers, &c. They gave up the sacramentarian doctrines 
and the elaborate ritual of the Lutheran Church, and 
insisted on a return to apostolic simplicity and Scriptu- 
ral doctrine. This religious movement continued for a 
hundred years, from the first introduction of the Re- 
formed faith at Emden in 1526, down to the conversion 
of the last prince and country in 1618.* 

*\During all these years the Protestant Church of Germany 
was deciding the problem, how many of the rites of the Catho- 
lic Church were Scriptural and proper. The Lutherans retained 
some of these forms. The Reformed refused to retain any that 
were not authorized by Scripture. 



OPPOSITION OF THE LUTHERANS. 427 



It is perfectly evident that so great a movement 
could not take place without friction or strife. It in- 
volved such radical changes that bitter feeling was en- 
gendered.* The people in some places resorted to vio- 
lence, as in Wesel and Saxony ; yes, even to riots, as at 
Amberg, Marburg and Berlin. The Lutheran Church 
violently opposed the introduction of the Reformed 
Church into Germany. Nor is this to be wondered at. 
The age was a deeply religious one. Everybody was 
religious after his own fashion. The people were tena- 
cious of their religious principles. They were, there- 
fore, less tolerant of other faiths. Almost all the de- 
nominations of the age, at times, resorted to force and 
violence. The Catholics raised an inquisition. The 
Episcopalians persecuted the Covenanters. The Re- 
formed were not absolutely free from the charge of per- 
secution ; but they persecuted less than the other denomi- 
nations. The Lutherans of Germany in their opposi- 
tion and their use of violence against the Reformed only 
shared the spirit of the age. There is another reason 
why the Lutherans opposed the Reformed. The gospel 
was a new discovery to them. They valued it all the 
more highly, because their eyes had been so long blinded 
to it. It was the opening of a new world to them when 

*For an interesting German tale that graphically describes 
the difficulties that led to the establishment of the Reformed 
Church in Germany in the sixteenth century, read "Einer ist 
euer Meister," by Sigmund Sturm (Sudhoff), published by 
Bronner at Frankford. 



428 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Luther preached the doctrine of justification by faith. 
Christianity became a new religion to them. Truths 
fought for, they clung to. Any departure from their 
way of thinking was a departure from the faith. Chris- 
tianity was Lutheran ism ? they thought ; all else was 
heresy. In their intense love for their faith they be- 
came bigoted. They felt the Reformed faith was a de- 
parture from their views, and so they opposed it. They 
saw that the Reformed were changing some of their 
doctrines and rites, and they became more bitter against 
them for doing so. Many of them misunderstood the 
Reformed doctrines. Some thought that the Reformed 
denied the divinity of Christ and were Arians. Others 
thought they lowered the sacrament of the Lord's Sup- 
per to an ordinary meal. Others only saw that they 
were different from their Lutheranism. And so they 
all, for one cause or another, violently opposed the in- 
troduction of the Reformed Church. 

But in the light of the nineteenth, if not of the six- 
teenth century, their treatment of the Reformed can not 
be defended. Such persecutions of brethren in the faith 
were not Christian. They can be excused, but not de- 
fended. We only know that such things would not be 
done by the Lutherans of to-day. For the Lutherans 
of the nineteenth century have progressed beyond the 
Lutherans of the sixteenth. Though they are still 
tenacious of their faith, they would not, by force, com- 



THE LUTHERANS OF THIS AGE. 



429 



pel others to accept it. Nor would they persecute any 
who left their Church. It is an interesting fact (and it 
is to be remembered in this connection) that the Lu- 
therans of to-day have very largely come around to the 
very position for which the Reformed contended in the 
sixteenth century. The low Lutherans or Melanctho- 
nians then contended for broader views of doctrine and 
a wider sympathy. The Reformed asked for tolera- 
tion. Both of these things the Lutherans of to-day are 
willing to grant. The Lutherans now treat the Re- 
formed as brethren — a courtesy they refused in the six- 
teenth century ; as was shown by Luther's conduct at 
Marburg and by the words of the Formula of Concord, 
which condemned the Reformed as heretics.* And a 
second change in the Lutheran Church is to be noted 
— a change not only in courtesy, but in doctrine. The 
Lutheran Church of this century has largely come around 
to the Melancthonian doctrine of the Lord's supper. 
While there are still high Lutherans, yet the leading 
Lutheran theologians of Germany are Melancthonian in 
doctrine and spirit. Had the Lutherans of the sixteenth 
century believed as they do to-day, the Melancthonians 
never would have gone out of that Church into the Re- 

*The writer had the privilege of attending a meeting of the 
Evangelical Alliance held in Lutheran Denmark, where other 
denominations— the Reformed, and even the Baptists and Meth- 
odists—were received with the greatest cordiality and treated 
with great kindness. 



430 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

formed. And still another fact is to be remembered in 
looking at this history. It is to be remembered that 
the high Lutherans, who instigated the harsh treatment 
of the Reformed in the sixteenth century, were only one 
section of the Lutheran Church. There were then two 
tendencies — a high Lutheran and a Melancthonian. 
And the Melancthonians were as much Lutheran as the 
others. Had the Melancthonian views prevailed, it had 
been better for the Lutheran Church. For the Me- 
lancthonians would have remained in the Lutheran 
Church. But it would have been worse for the Re- 
formed Church ; for then the Reformed Church of Ger- 
many would have been a very small one ; and her his- 
tory very brief, indeed.* 

From the past history it will also be noticed that 
there were three general causes for the origin of the Re- 
formed Church. The first was the opposition that sprang 
up against the doctrines of ubiquity. The Melanctho- 
nian theologians and princes would have nothing to do 
with it. And so bitter did they become in their de- 
nunciations of it, that they were driven in an opposite 

*We trust, therefore, that if anything has been said in this 
volume that may seem to reflect in any way on the Lutherans, 
it will he remembered that the Lutherans of the sixteenth cen- 
tury were meant, and not the Lutherans of to-day. It was ne- 
cessary to give the facts as history gave them, in order to explain 
the causes that led to the formation of the Reformed Church in 
Germany. And not a few Lutherans of to-day have seen and 
confessed the mistakes made by their Church in the sixteenth 
century. 



CAUSES FOR THE REFORMED CHURCH. 431 

direction, to a position that brought them not very far 
from the Reformed faith. It was then only a step for 
them to pass over to the Reformed Church. And the 
persistent efforts of the high Lutherans, to force their 
doctrines on them through the Formula of Concord, only 
increased their opposition. Thus the doctrine of ubi- 
quity, with the doctrines and rites connected with it, 
drove the Melancthonians into the Reformed Church. 
The second cause was the bigotry of these high Luther- 
ans, who gradually attained a commanding influence in 
the Church. The closer they clung to ubiquity, the 
farther they drew themselves away from other denomi- 
nations. They declared they alone possessed the truth, 
and all others were heretics. But broad-minded men in 
the Lutheran Church were not to be cramped by such 
narrowness. Generous hearted men in that Church re- 
fused to have their sympathies dwarfed and crushed out 
of them. The result was that the Germans who pitied 
the Reformed in their persecutions by the Catholics, 
and who hated the persecutions of the Lutherans against 
the Reformed, left the Church, rather than be a party 
to such bigotry. 

There was a third reason for the origin of the Re- 
formed Church — a reason that has not been noted as it 
deserves to be. For it had a potent influence in scat- 
tering the seeds of the Reformed faith, so as to bring 
forth an abundant harvest. This cause was the inter- 



432 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

marriage of the Reformed princes among the noble 
families of Germany. This intermarriage, or associa- 
tion of the princely families, brought many princes into 
the Reformed Church. And when the prince of a land 
became Reformed, he usually brought the people of his 
land with him into the Reformed Church. There is 
what might be called (following out the idea suggested 
by the apostolic succession) a princely succession, by 
which the princes, one after another, seemed to bestow 
the Reformed faith on other princes. And this revealed 
some curious facts about the spread of the Reformed. 
In a few places, as in the free cities of Strasburg, Bre- 
men and Emden, the Reformed faith was introduced 
through no princely influence. But in almost every 
other state such was the case. Elector Frederick ILL 
of the Palatinate began this movement among the princes 
toward the Reformed Church. He happened to have 
Count Lewis of Wittgenstein as his Court master in the 
Palatinate. When Frederick died, although the Re- 
formed faith was driven out of the Palatinate, yet Count 
Lewis took it to his own home in Wittgenstein. And 
so the county of Sayn-Wittgenstein became Reformed. 
The intimacy of Count Lewis with his friend and neigh- 
bor, Count John of Nassau-Dillenberg (who afterwards 
married his daughter), influenced him to receive the Re- 
formed doctrines. Count John then, in his turn, be- 
came a missionary for the Reformed Church. And very 



THE PRINCELY SUCCESSION. 



433 



zealously did he influence the neighboring counts of 
Solms, Hanau and Isenberg to become Reformed. (The 
Count of Hanau had Count John as his guardian, and 
the Count of Solms afterward married into the Nassau 
family.) Thus through the association of these princes, 
almost the whole Wetterau district became Reformed. 
Nor does their influence stop here. For Count John of 
Wied became Reformed through intermarriage with the 
Nassau family. And then the county of Meurs (west of 
the Rhine) was influenced toward the Reformed Church 
through intermarriage with this same Nassau family. 
Count Adolph of Nuenar, the prince of Meurs, became 
a great champion of the Reformed Church. Through 
the influence of Count Adolph, the Reformed faith 
spread northward. He influenced his cousin, Count 
Wirich of Daun-Falkenstein (east of the Rhine, near 
Cologne), to join the Reformed Church. And Count 
Wirich in turn influenced his brother-in-law, Count 
William of Hardenberg (in the county of Berg), to be- 
come Reformed. Thus the Reformed Church was 
planted east and west of the northern Rhine. 

Nor did it stop. It continued its course northward 
to Bentheim and Tecklenberg. For Count Arnold of 
Bentheim married into the Nuenar family of Meurs, and 
was led to introduce the Reformed doctrines into his 
land. And what aided in the spread of the Reformed 
faith northward also caused its spread eastward. The 



434 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Duke$ of Anhalt married into the Reformed families of 
the Palatinate and Bentheim (Duke John George of 
Anhalt-Dessau married a daughter of Prince Casimir of 
the Palatinate, and Duke Christian of Anhalt-Bernberg 
married a princess of Bentheim), and so Anhalt became 
Reformed. Elector Sigismund of Brandenberg was 
brought into direct contact with the Reformed faith by 
the marriage of his son George William to the daughter 
of Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate. He went 
to Heidelberg to the wedding ; and by this association 
and intermarriage of the Brandenberg and Palatinate 
families, he was influenced to the Reformed faith. The 
Duke of Leignitz married into the Anhalt family (Duke 
Joachim Frederick married the princess Anna Maria of 
Anhalt), and so he became Reformed. 

The remaining princely houses of Hesse and Schon- 
aicher were influenced toward the Reformed Church — if 
not by marriage, by association with Reformed princes. 
This princely succession — this conversion of prince 
through prince — aided very greatly in spreading the 
Reformed doctrines and enlarging the Reformed Church. 
And while we do not believe that mere intermarriage 
converted them to the Reformed faith, yet their mar- 
. riage into Reformed families introduced the Reformed 
doctrines to them and prepared them for their conver- 
sion. 

Summing up results, we find that the Reformed 
Church had twelve organizations in Germany by 1620, 



STRENGTH OF THE REFORMED CHURCH. 435 



the end of the first century of its existence in Germany. 
She had regularly organized synods in Hesse, the lower 
Rhine, the Wetterau counties, and in Bentheim. Lippe, 
Zweibriicken, Anhalt, Brandenberg and Leignitz were 
under the control of Reformed consistories. The Palat- 
inate had classes regularly organized and presided over 
by some member of the consistory. Bremen was organ- 
ized under a conference, and Emden under a coetus. 
Thus all the churches were organized into church courts. 
And although the organization was not purely presby- 
terian in all the upper courts, yet it was so in the lower 
courts (the presbytery or board of elders), which were 
organized everywhere. The Reformed Church had also 
thoroughly organized her educational institutions. She 
was a great educator. The universities of Heidelberg, 
Marburg, Herborn, and Frankford-on-the-Oder were 
under Reformed control. She also had gymnasia at 
Neustadt, Bremen, Hanau, Zerbst, Steinfurt, Brieg, Beu- 
then and Berlin, in which there were professors of Re- 
formed theology. In the roll of princes, as well as in 
organizations and colleges, she had become strong. Two 
of the Electors of Germany, six dukes, one landgrave, 
seventeen counts and two free cities had embraced the 
Reformed faith. In all she numbered on her roll twenty 
eight states of the empire, or about one fourth of the 
princes and states in the German Diet. Some one has 
hazarded the statement that at that time one third of 



436 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Germany was Reformed. This estimate is probably 
large. Bat it only shows to what large proportions and 
great influence the Reformed Church had grown in Ger- 
many within sixty years, from 1560 to 1620. Two of 
the three Protestant Electors were Reformed ; only one, 
the Elector of Saxony, being Lutheran, Some of the 
leading statesmen and soldiers of Germany, as Prince 
Casimir and Duke Christian of Anhalt, were Reformed. 
The Elector of the Palatinate stood at the head of the 
Protestant Union which arrayed itself against the Cath- 
olic powers. And next to him, supporting him, stood 
the little less powerful prince, Landgrave Maurice of 
Hesse. The Reformed Church was strong in schools, 
population and influence. Probably just before the 
Thirty Years' War, which so terribly devastated her, she 
was stronger than she ever was before or has been since. 



CHAPTER V.-SECTION IV. 
Conclusion. 

From the preceeding history we can see quite clearly 
the purpose for which the Reformed Church was 
founded. She was organized to protest against the er- 
rors of the Romish Church, and the sacramentarianism 
and ritualistic position of the Lutheran Church. She 
was a revolt against what we would call high church 
doctrines and ceremonies. If her members had not been 
so strongly opposed to these things, they would never 
have come out of the Lutheran Church. And if we, her 
children, would be true to her, we must perpetuate the 
principles that led to her foundation. It is, therefore, 
easy to see the theological position of the Fathers of the 
Reformed Church. We will take up this subject under 
three heads, and see why she was founded, and what we, 
her children, are to perpetuate. 

I. — Her Church Government. 

In her constitution she was Presbyterian. The two 
principles on which she was founded, were the equality 
of the ministry, and the prominence of the elders. In 
carrying out those principles, she received a more thor- 
ough organization than the Lutheran Church. She held 



438 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

that the Church must organize itself. The Lutherans 
held that it was the prince's duty to organize the Church. 
The Reformed were therefore republican, the Lutherans 
monarchical, in their tendencies ; the Reformed demo- 
cratic, the Lutherans aristocratic. Lambert, Lasco and 
Olevianus were the great organizers of the German Re- 
formed Church. They arranged its organization into 
presbyteries, classes and synods, Lasco giving special at- 
tention to the first, and Olevianus to the last two. As a 
result, we find that in the Lower Rhine, Bentheim, the 
Wetterau district, Emden and Bremen, there was a thor- 
ough presbyterial organization. But in the other lands 
this presbyterian organization was modified to some ex- 
tent by the appointment of a consistory who had charge 
of the church affairs of the land. The organization of 
the Reformed Church then was presbyterian or consis- 
torial. And even where it was most affected by Luther- 
anism, as in Eastern Germany, it still preserved more 
independence of state control than did the Lutheran. 
But the prominence given to the elders by the Reformed 
was a very important advance on the Lutheran organi- 
zation. The elders always occupied a prominent place 
in the congregation. The example and influence of the 
French Reformed churches at Strasburg, Heidelberg and 
in the Northern Rhine, opened the eyes of the Germans 
to the value of a good eldership. So the German 
churches were organized after that pattern. Elders, or 



SHE IS PRESBYTERIAN. 



439 



censors, as they were often called, were appointed in each 
congregation. They were to assist the minister in his 
duties, and to exercise discipline over the membership of 
the church. It was their duty to visit the congregation, 
along with the minister, especially before a communion 
season. And sometimes, as at Cologne and Heidelberg, 
the town was divided into districts, and each district was 
placed under the oversight of an elder. In the Lower 
Rhine region, where the Reformed Church had the 
greatest freedom to develop herself, the elders were ac- 
customed to preside at a religious meeting (when the 
pastor was absent). And in their meetings of the 
church courts they were accustomed to call each other 
brother- minister and brother-elder, no distinction being 
made in their rank. Occasionally, as in Hesse, the elder 
would assist the minister in handing the cup at the sup- 
per. All these facts and customs only reveal the prom- 
inence of the elders in the churches, and the importance 
placed on the office. 

Still another peculiarity of the Reformed Church 
was her use of church discipline. As this power of dis- 
cipline was given to the elders in each church, the dis- 
cipline of the Reformed was stricter than among the 
Lutherans, who left that power in the hands of the min- 
ister or the superintendent. The result of this strict 
church discipline was a high type of piety and a purer 
church life. Even Tholuck himself admits this fact. 



440 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

This strict church discipline became a great blessing to 
the Church. Though at times there was carelessness in 
administering it ; yet the fact that they could be dis- 
ciplined, always acted^as a check on the Reformed mem- 
bers. It was owing to this peculiar organization that 
the Reformed were able to resist the torrent of woes that 
poured over them, billow after billow, in the seventeenth 
century. 

II. — Doctrine. 

The doctrinal position of the Reformed Church was 
Calvinism. On the doctrine of predestination she was 
Calvinistic. True, her Calvinism was at first somewhat 
tinctured by Melancthonianism. For as the Melanc- 
thonians came over to the Reformed Church, they 
shaded off gradually into Calvinism. But as they be- 
came more Reformed, they became more Calvinistic. 
Thus, for instance, Anhalt was at first Melancthonian. 
But as she became more thoroughly Reformed, it was 
not long before Calvinists like Wendelin appeared. 
Brandenberg was at first Melancthonian, but soon strict 
Calvinists like Evell appeared in the Church. It is 
true, a school of Calvinists appeared, who were lower in 
their Calvinism than Calvin — the sublapsarian school, 
which followed Lasco rather than Calvin, and believed 
in the universality of the atonement. Yet the Church 
was Calvinistic, for these sublapsarians were considered 
Calvinists. 



SHE IS CALVINISTIC. 



441 



There have been those in the Reformed Church 
who have derided Calvinism. But they should remem- 
ber that Calvinism lay at the foundation of the Re- 
formed Church. Had it not been for Calvinism, we 
would have had no Reformed Church of Germany. 

The theological position of the Reformed Church 
of the sixteenth century is well exhibited in her symbol, 
the Heidelberg Catechism, which was moderately Cal- 
vinistic. For this catechism was adopted by all the 
Reformed churches except Brandenberg (which held to 
the Sigismund Confession), and Zweibriicken (where 
the Zweibriicken catechism was used.) The Heidelberg 
Catechism was introduced into Wesel, the Wetterau 
counties, Bremen, Emden (although the Emden cate- 
chism continued to be used even in this century,) the 
Lower Rhine, Bentheim, Anhalt, Lippe, Leignitz and 
Hesse (where, although a creed of the Church, it was 
only used as a text-book in the schools). But it is to be 
noticed that the Eastern Reformed churches, which were 
more influenced by Melancthon, were moderately Cal- 
vinistic (sublapsarian.) Bergius of Brandenberg, Am- 
ling of Anhalt, Goclenius of Hesse, and Martinius of 
Bremen were the leaders of this moderate Calvinism. 
But Western Germany, which was so intimately related, 
on the one hand to Holland, and on the other to Switz- 
erland (where high Calvinism was in the ascendant), 
29 



442 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

was high Calvinistic. The Palatinate, Lower Rhine, 
Bentheim and Emden were then strongly Calvinistic. 

Thus we see that the general position of the Re- 
formed Church in that day was that of the Heidelberg 
Catechism. It was Calvinistic, but it included in it 
various degrees of Calvinism. It is also to be noticed 
that a new school of theologians was beginning to ap- 
pear, called the Federal school. They believed in the 
' theology of the covenants 7 Their leader afterwards 
was Koch, and from him they are called the Cocceian 
school. This school aimed to be Scriptural rather than 
Scholastic. They taught a theology of the Bible rather 
than of philosophy. And while it still clung to God's 
sovereignty, it gave larger liberty to the human will. 
Olevianus, in his work on " Grace," became the fore- 
runner of this school ; and his successor at Herborn, 
Piscator, helped to prepare the way for it. Thus Olevi- 
anus prepared the way for moderate Calvinism, while, 
on the other hand, it is to be noticed that Ursinus 
seems to have prepared the way for the high Calvin- 
istic school. For his pupils, as Gomarus, Lybrand 
and others, became the leaders of the high Calvinistic 
party in the next generation of theologians. The theo- 
logical position of the early Reformed Church was Cal- 
vinism, although she allowed liberty of thought in her 
Calvinism. 



HER DOCTRINE OF THE SUPPER. 



443 



On the doctrine of the Lord's supper the Reformed 
Church was Calvinistic. While on the one hand she 
rejected the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and 
the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation, on the other 
hand she also rejected the doctrine that the elements were 
mere signs. In her early history there were quite a 
number of Zwinglians who inclined to the view that the 
bread and wine were only symbols. But this afterward 
gave way to the generally received doctrine of Calvin, 
that there was a special presence of Christ at the supper. 
(The supper was more than a mere memorial, it was a 
meeting-place of Christ with the soul.) Christ was pres- 
ent, not bound up in the elements, but spiritually pres- 
ent in the soul of the believer. The sacrament was not 
merely a sign, but a reality. Christ's presence was a 
real spiritual one. Here it is that Calvin and Melanc- 
thon neared each other. And yet they never fully har- 
monized. Melancthon, educated under Lutheranism, 
came to it from the Lutheran standpoint of the carnal 
presence. Calvin came to it from the opposite position, 
from the idea of a spiritual presence. These two re- 
formers neared each other. ' But coming to the doctrine 
from opposite poles, they looked at it from opposite 
sides,. And Melancthon was tinctured with the idea of 
a carnal presence, while Calvin with a spiritual presence. 
The result of this was that they differed in the efficacy 
of this sacrament. Melancthon held with the Luther- 



444 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

ans that all who ate of Christ's body received benefit; 
Calvin held the opposite, that the believers were blessed, 
but unbelievers were condemned. The Heidelberg Cat- 
echism, in answer eighty-one, plainly states Calvin's 
position — that the unworthy eat and drink judgment 
to themselves. The Reformed Church then agreed with 
Calvin in rejecting three views of the Lutherans con- 
cerning the Lord's supper — impanation, or the presence 
of Christ's body and blood "in, with and under" the 
elements ; oral manducation, or the reception of Christ's 
body through the mouth ; and the efficacy of the sacra- 
ment to the unworthy. She agreed with Calvin in re- 
jecting these three. She held to a presence of Christ at 
the supper, but a presence in the soul of the believer. 

The Reformed also agreed with Calvin in rejecting 
ubiquity and the doctrines underlying it. And in op- 
posing ubiquity, they also opposed the doctrine of Christ's 
natures, which was the foundation of ubiquity ; namely 
that the attributes of the one nature co<uld be predicated of 
the other. Thus, that the attribute of omnipresence could 
be given to his human body, so that it might be every- 
where, wherever the Lord's supper wais celebrated. But 
the Reformed held that the two natures, while united in 
one person, were distinct ; and that tire properties of each 
remained distinct. The forty-seventh.' answer of the Hei- 
delberg catechism very clearly descri bes this distinctness 
in regard to his attribute of omnipresence. The Re- 



HER OPPOSITION TO UBIQUITY. 



445 



formed Church was opposed to any tendency toward any 
fusion of the two natures of Christ — opposed to any 
Eutychianism or any theanthropic life theories. The 
arguments used by Olevianus and Ursinus at the Maul- 
bron conference reveal their opposition to ubiquity or 
any fusion of the natures of Christ. In his comments 
of the catechism,* Ursinus very severely opposes ubiquity 
or any fusion of Christ's natures. Osiandrianism (which 
held that sanctification was an infusion of Christ's na- 
ture into the believer through the incarnation) and Cal- 
vinism were at opposite poles. Funk, Osiander's son- 
in-law, felt this. And the bitterest thrust he could give 
against the Wittenberg theologians was that they were 
Calvinists. If then the Lutherans rejected Osiandrian- 
ism ; how much more did the Calvinists (who opposed 
even ubiquity) reject it. The Reformed Church in her 
origin and history is a continued protest against such the- 
ories. And any attempt to introduce them is a re- 
turn to the very doctrines which she then repudiated. 

III. — Oultus or Customs of the Reformed Church. 

Intimately connected with the doctrine of a Church 
is her cultus or custom of worship. The cultus depends 
on the doctrines and also reveals them. It is the mirror 
of the Church's doctrines. Is a denomination ritualistic 
or not, her worship will reveal it. The Reformed 

*Page 249 of Dr. Williard's translation. 



446 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Church worship was in accord with her moderate views 
of the sacraments. Opposed to all sacramentarianism 
(as we now understand that word), she was simple in her 
service. The centre of her service was not the mass, as 
in the Romish Church, nor the ritual, as in the Luther- 
an Church of that day, or the Episcopal Church of to- 
day, but it was the Scripture. The Reformed Church 
always gave great prominence and showed great respect 
for the Scripture in her public services. The Lutherans 
emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith, but the 
Reformed emphasized the authority of the Scriptures. 
This is evident from all the Reformed confessions. The 
first Reformed confession of Germany, the Tetrapolitana, 
made prominent the Scriptures as the rule of faith. The 
Lutheran confessions did not speak of it at that time. 
This authority of Scripture is the key note of Reformed 
history and church life. The creed and the custom must 
harmonize with Scripture. We find, therefore, that in 
the church services the Scripture occupied the central 
place. It was the reading and the preaching of the 
word that were most honored. It is still the custom in 
many of the Reformed churches of Germany for the 
congregation to rise during the reading of Scripture, and 
also during the reading of the text ; then to sit down and 
remain seated during the sermon. Ebrard gives an il- 
lustration ; that in some of the Reformed churches men 
used to put on their hats after the text had been read 



PROMINENCE OF THE PULPIT. 



447 



and kept them on their heads during the sermon ; so as 
to distinguish the sermon as man's word from the text as 
God's word. Such was the reverence given to God's 
word, and its prominence in the service. If, then, the 
Scriptures were the important part of the service, the 
pulpit, therefore, was made the prominent feature of the 
Church, and not the altar. Indeed, the Reformed 
Church had no altars. She had nothing but commun- 
ion tables. Her liturgies continually call it a commun- 
ion table, not an altar. Almost the first thing the Re- 
formed did in each country in Germany was to cleanse 
the churches from altars. And sometimes they did it, 
though there was danger in doing it, and riots ensued. 
All this only revealed their determined opposition to 
altars.* The pulpit occupied the prominent place in 
the centre of the church, with the plain communion ta- 
ble at the distant end of the church, or else nothing but 
an almost unseen table beneath the pulpit. Any at- 
tempt, therefore, to put the altar in the principal place 
in the church, and to put the pulpit to one side, is con- 
trary to the history and custom of the Reformed Church. 
It is bringing back into the Church what she so repudi- 
ated at her origin. Such customs are Lutheran, and not 
Reformed, for the Lutheran and Episcopalian Churches 
give prominence to altars. The Bible, the pulpit and 
preaching were the centre of her worship. 



*See Index on Altars. 



448 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



In harmony with this idea of worship, the promi- 
nence of Scripture, it is to be noticed that the Reformed 
Church did not use Scripture lessons or Pericopes.* She 
was not satisfied with only parts of the Bible. She 
wanted the whole Bible to be read at her services.f The 
Palatinate liturgy, which was generally used throughout 
Germany, does not mention Scripture lessons. They 
were ignored. They were considered Lutheran and not 
Reformed. The Church of Hesse was the only one that 
used them ; but they were not in general use, for the 
Hessian liturgy was not used outside of that land. And 
in as far as the Hessian Church used them, she was not 
considered purely Reformed by the other Reformed 
Churches. The minister was not limited to taking his 
texts from the Scripture lessons of the day. He was 
free to take his texts from any part of the Bible. In 
fact, some of the synods ordered the texts to be free, so 
that the minister might not be bound up to the Peri- 
copes. The Palatinate liturgy ordered that he take 
texts from the Old and the New Testaments. It does 
not limit him to the gospel and epistle of the day. In 
many places whole chapters were read in connection with 
the service. Thus the Reformed Church shook off the 
trammels of the Pericopes. She was not satisfied with 
the reading of meagre parts of the Bible, for they left her 

*See index on Scripture lessons. 

tFor the evil results of the use of the Pericopes in the Lu- 
theran Church, see Ebrard's Church History, III., 626. 



THE CHUECH YEAE. 



449 



members ignorant of the greater part of the Bible, which 
was never read. In connection with the Pericopes, it is 
to be noticed that the Reformed Church did not have 
the church year. Luther aimed to retain some of the 
Catholic festivals, but to have them celebrated on Sun- 
day. The Reformed Church gave up the many fast and 
feast days of the Catholic and Lutheran Churches. She 
ordered that only the five Scriptural festivals should be 
celebrated, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension 
and Pentecost.* New Year was also ordered to be cel- 
ebrated, but it is not called Epiphany, and was not cel- 
ebrated as a festival of the church year. The Reformed 
Church kept only the festivals that emphasized the facts 
of Christ's life. All others were ignored. The S abbaths 
were not spoken of in the churches as the first after ad- 
vent, epiphany, trinity. Lent was unknown. Her lit- 
urgies and her hymn-books as well as the writings of 
her theologians, reveal her freedom from the use of the 
church year. She emphasized the facts of Christ's life, 
not the church year. 

A second peculiarity of Reformed Church worship 
was its simplicity. The Lutherans had an elaborate rit- 
ual, but in the Reformed churches the service was as 
plain as possible. This simplicity (einfachheit) has been 
noticed by her historians, as Ebrard, Heppe, Sudhoff, 

*Ebrard's Church History, III., 579. 



450 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Gillett and others.* The baptismal service was simpli- 
fied. Exorcism, or the blowing away of the devil at 
baptism, was done away with. In her efforts to put 
away everything that was idolatrous about baptismf they 
went so far as to put the fonts out of the churches. They 
baptized from bowls. And to still further emphasize 
their simplicity, they generally used a wooden bowl. 
The service at the Lord's supper was simplified. The 
Lutheran custom of holding a cloth beneath the elements, 
of candles, robes and crosses was done away with. 
Bread was used instead of wafers. (The introduction of 
bread at the Lord's supper was geuerally the first sign 
that a congregation had gone over to the Reformed 
faith.) As there was no altar in the churches, there was 

*Ebrard, III., 578. Rev. Dr. J. W. Nevin says : "The Re- 
formed confession from the beginning, if we except the Episco- 
pal portion of it in England, for reasons which it is not necessary 
to consider, had not been favorable to much outward form or 
ritual action in worship ; and its liturgical productions have 
been all along more mechanical than organic, more in sympathy 
with the pulpit than the altar. While we honor the constitu- 
tional character of the Reformed Church in the general view of 
which we are now speaking, we ought to be willing to admit 
that it carried in it a tendency to what we call extreme simplic- 
ity and spiritualism over against the worship of the Catholic 
Church, and that this stood in the way of a full liturgical cultus 
in the proper sense of the term. The disposition to get away as 
much as possible from the outward usages of the Roman Church, 
was the cause of extreme views in the opposite direction. There 
was no proper insight into the true conception of a liturgy re- 
garded as an organic scheme of worship, and no active sympa- 
thy, therefore, with the idea of worship in any such form." 
— Liturgical Question, pages 41, 42 and 60. 

|See page 148, note. 



othp:r customs. 



451 



no priest at the service. The minister did Dot stand as 
did the priest, with his back to the congregation and his 
face to the altar. That practice was directly forbidden 
by some of the Reformed churches. He was called "a 
servant" of the word, not a " priest" ministering at the 
altar. The Reformed did not consider the gown neces- 
sary for the service. Indeed it has been a grave ques- 
tion whether the rubric in the Palatinate liturgy about 
gowns is not a prohibition of them, and an order for the 
minister to preach in his ordinary clothes.* In connec- 
tion with this simplicity of the service, it is to be no- 
ticed that the Reformed had no crosses or crucifixes in 
their churches. They put them out of the churches. 
They would not tolerate a cross as near to a church as 
the grave yard. And the Lower Rhine Reformed 
Church disciplined a member who worked on a Catholic 
cross. They wished it understood that it was not the 
cross nor the crucifix, but the crucified whom they wor- 
shipped and preached. They put images and pictures 
out of the churches. They looked on images as idols and 
their presence as a violation of the second commandment. 
Landgrave Maurice of Hesse in his address at Marburg 
called them idols. f 

In harmony with this simplicity, it is to be noticed 
that the Reformed had very little liturgy. In the next 

*See page 196, note. 
fSee page 363. 



452 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



century, through the revival of pietism, the liturgical 
service fell into disuse in great measure in her churches.* 
Her mode of worship was simple. There were no elab- 
orate chan tings. The Gloria in Excelsis was not used. 
The litany was not used in her Sabbath services. We 
have been surprised to find that there was no repetition 
of the creed by the congregation. When it was used, 
the minister repeated it himself. She did not have a 
number of prayers (before or after the sermon), which 
were broken up into collects by the response of Amen 
by the congregation. There was only a single brief 
prayer. The liturgy did not require the congregation 
to respond with an Amen. The minister made the 
prayer, and closed'it with his Amen, Indeed, the Re- 
formed people were opposed to responses in church 
service. This is shown by the trouble in the Reformed 
church at Frankford, where, when the Episcopalians 
tried to introduce the responses, it caused great oppo- 
sition. The response of Amen was used in the Episco- 
palian and Methodist Churches, and is, therefore, Epis- 
copalian and Methodistic, but not Reformed. The only 
responses that were used in the liturgy, were in con- 
nection with the preparatory service. And these were 
introduced because the church wished, before admittting 
the people to the table of the Lord, to be assured of 
their faith. So the congregation was questioned by the 



*GoebePs History, I., 420. Goebel, II., 121-2. 



HER OPPOSITION TO RITUALISM. 453 



minister concerning its faith ; and its simple response 
was " yes." The liturgy seemed to try to make the 
response as simple and brief as possible. The liturgy 
aimed to make the preparatory service more solemn, by 
thus making it different from the other services.* It 
was this responsive worship and altar service that made 
the Reformed raise such a storm against Hesshuss at 
Heidelberg. The Reformed people, when they left the 
Lutheran Church, were opposed to these forms. And 
rather than attend a ritualistic service, they stayed at 
home ; (they did this in the Palatinate during Elector 
Lewis' reign.) Or they showed their abhorrence of 
these things by preferring to suffer persecution rather 
than join in them (as Lasco did in Denmark, when the 
Reformed preferred exile to ritualism). 

These and other facts only revealed the determined 
opposition of the Reformed to ritualistic services. The 
Reformed in many places closed organs, and introduced 
the singing of the psalms into the churches. Many of 
the old hymn books contained nothing but psalms, al- 
though others added hymns to the psalms. But the 
psalms constituted the basis and centre of the book, and 
not the church year, which was generally unnoticed in 
the hymn books. These psalms sustained the Reformed 
in persecution and linked their hearts more fully to 

*This is one of the advantages of using a liturgy on sacra- 
mental occasions, and not in the Sabbath service. The novelty 
of the liturgical form makes the sacramental service more 
impressive. 



454 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



God's word. The early Reformed Church was Puri- 
tanic in her churches and in her services. The Re- 
formed service was very simple. It consisted simply of 
an invocation, hymn, prayer, hymn, sermon, prayer, 
hymn, and benediction. That was all.* The Reformed 
1 Church of Germany to-day is not ritualistic. Our 
fathers who came to this land, did not use a liturgy in 
their Sabbath services. Our German churches do not 
use the liturgy on the Sabbath. These facts should 
clearly reveal the position of the Reformed Church in 
worship. While the Lutheran Church aimed at ritual- 
ism, the Reformed aimed at Scriptural simplicity. 

Finally, the Reformed Church was spiritual in her 
cultus. She did not have many forms or an elaborate 
ritual. She cared not for the formal ; she emphasized 
the spiritual. f She aimed to produce spirituality in her 

*The very existence of the Reformed Church is a protest 
against an elaborately ritualistic or liturgical Sabbath service. 
When she left the Lutheran Church, she left the Gloria, the lit- 
any, Lent, etc., behind her. She left the Lutheran Church so 
as to get back to Scriptural simplicity of service. And any at- 
tempt to introduce them into the Reformed Church is going 
back to the very principles which she then renounced. These 
customs are Lutheran, not Reformed. The introduction of 
these things into the Reformed Church is a bringing of Lu- 
theranism into the Reformed Church. In proportion as they 
are introduced they are a departure from the simplicity of the 
Reformed faith. 

fRev. Dr. J. W. Nevin says : " It belongs, as we all know, 
to the Reformed Church to represent that side of the Christian 
life in which the inward, the free, the spiritual in religion are 
asseited, against the authority of the merely outward in every 
view." — Liturgical Question, page 41. 



FINAL CONCLUSION". 



455 



members by the spirituality in her services. And the 
result was that the Reformed Church developed a fine 
spiritual life in her members. The word of God was 
not hidden by an elaborate ritual, but was prominent ; 
and " where the word is, there is life " This kind of 
service developed in the Reformed people a deep per- 
sonal piety, which has largely characterized the Re- 
formed Church. It prepared her for the revival of the 
next century. It also imparted strength and hope to 
her, by which she was able to bear the persecutions of 
the seventeenth century. 

Scriptural, simple, spiritual — these were the peculi- 
arities of the cultus of the Reformed Church. The pu- 
rity of her doctrine, the strictness of her church govern- 
ment, the simplicity of her services — these guiding prin- 
ciples have been the key to her success in the past and 
the hope of her prosperity in the future. She has be- 
queathed them to us her children, bidding us perpetuate 
them and then bequeath them to generations yet unborn. 
May we be faithful to the sacred trust, and thus be 
worthy of our fathers, who founded the Reformed 
Church. 



APPBNDIX. 



30 



APPENDIX. 



The Reformed World. 

The Keformed Church is not only grand in history, 
but also great in numbers. The number of Reformed 
people in the world, at the present time, is larger than 
most persons suppose. We who belong to the Reformed 
Church in these United States, are not alone in our 
faith. But we are part of a great and continually in- 
creasing army, that is spread all over the earth. There 
is not a continent, except Australia, which does not have 
churches on it bearing the Reformed name. We will 
take up the Churches bearing the name Reformed or who 
use the continental Reformed confessions ; and endeavor 
to gain a world-wide view of the state of the Reformed 
Church at the present time.* In Europe the Reformed 
religion is the state religion of two nations. They are 
not large countries, it is true, but they are nations which 
have borne a worthy part in the world's history. They 
are Switzerland and Holland. The Reformed faith is the 

#The statistics are taken from "Herzog's Encyclopaedia, " 
from the " Minutes of the Reformed Alliance" at Belfast, from 
"Sketches of European Lands" and the "Reformed Pastor of 
Germany," both by Rev. Dr. Zahn, and the "Manual of the 
German Reformed Church," by Rev. Dr. Dubbs. 



460 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

predominant established religion of these lands. Of the 
rulers of the earth, the king of Holland is a member of 
the Dutch Reformed Church. And the Emperor of 
Germany is a nominal subscriber to our creed ; for the 
Hohenzollern family has always been Reformed; and in 
the union of the Churches in Germany, each preserved 
its creed intact. Dr. Schaff is authority for saying that 
the Heidelberg Catechism is used in the royal family in 
Berlin. In four other countries in Europe, the Re- 
formed faith is an acknowledged, but not the prevailing 
religion of the land. But it is acknowledged by the 
state, and to a greater or less degree financially assisted 
by the government. These lands are Germany, France, 
Austria and Russia. 

SWITZERLAND. 

Switzerland is the mother Church of the Reformed 
faith. There Zwingli started the Reformed Church, 
and Ecolampadius, Calvin, Bullinger and Beza laid its 
foundations. The Protestants of Switzerland are all 
Reformed. Switzerland is the United States of Europe. 
She has twenty-two cantons. A peculiarity of the Swiss 
is that each canton has its own individual church. This 
cantonal church life has produced great diversities be- 
tween the Churches. It has engendered a lack of unity 
and been a source of weakness. There are fifteen cantonal 
churches in the Protestant cantons. This diversity in 
the Swiss Reformed Church is also made all the greater 



THE REFOEMED WORLD. 



461 



when we remember that its people speak three lan- 
guages—German, French and Italian ; and there is a 
Reformed church in each of these different languages. 
Zurich has always been the heart of German Protestant 
Switzerland. But Zurich, alas, has become the home of 
the rationalistic or liberal theology. It is true, there 
are evangelical ministers there (the Munster and the 
Fraumunster are evangelical, especially the latter, while 
St. Peter's is rationalistic), but the university is free or 
liberal in its theology. Basel, however, with its Mis- 
sion-house; and Schaffhausen, are the leading evangeli- 
cal cantons. Berne seems to be divided between the 
rationalists and the evangelicals, with a leaning toward 
the latter. Thus the free thinking of rationalism has 
made sad inroads into the old evangelical faith. But 
the Evangelicals are very active, especially at Basel. 
They have founded four schools to provide the cantonal 
government schools with evangelical teachers — a very 
important effort. They have also attempted to evan- 
gelize in rationalistic parishes, but the movement is as 
yet only in its infancy. The development of the pietism 
of German Switzerland gathered itself around pastor 
Schintz of Zurich. Prof. Schweizer of Zurich is the 
leader of the free or rationalistic party. He is a strong 
adherent of Schleiermacher. Riggenbach of Basel and 
Guder of Berne are prominent among the Evangelicals. 
In French Reformed Switzerland there is a somewhat 



462 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

different development. Over against the rationalism in 
the state Churches and the interference of state authority, 
there have arisen small Free Churches along-side of the 
state Churches. There are three of these small Free 
Churches in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Neuf- 
chatel. The state Church of Geneva has almost en- 
tirely gone over to rationalism. And the Venerable 
Company of pastors, originated by Calvin, no longer 
believe in orthodoxy, to say nothing of Calvinism. It 
is a sad fact that rationalism should be so active in the 
homes of Zwingli and Calvin. But it is an interesting 
sign of the times that the Free Church of Scotland has 
founded a church in Geneva to bring back to its citi- 
zens the Calvinism their fathers loved, but which they 
have forgotten. The state Church of Neufchatel is 
evangelical, and the state Church of Vaud partly so. 
The Free Churches are the aggressive forces in the can- 
tons. The Free Church of Geneva is a small one, hav- 
ing only 700 members. But it has a wide influence in 
the city, and has been made famous by such names as 
D'Aubigne and Malan. The Free Church of Vaud is 
larger, numbering about 4,000, and has been made fa- 
mous by the influence of Vinet. The Free Church of 
Neufchatel has 600 members, and contains the great 
evangelical theologian of Switzerland, Godet. There is 
also in Neufchatel an Independent Church, so that there 
are three Reformed churches in that canton. 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



463 



We now turn to the Italian Churches of Switzer- 
land. A very interesting discovery of a hidden Re- 
formed church has been made within the last few years. 
And yet it is a church with ancient history. During 
the sixteenth century the Reformed doctrines were car- 
ried over the Splugen pass, and found a home in the 
Italian mountain villages of the Grisons and in the city 
of Chiavenna, where Zanchius preached to a congrega- 
tion. A terrible persecution arose, and the Reformed 
were driven away. But they continued to exist, and a 
few years ago sent to the Waldensees of Italy for an 
Italian pastor. A delegate of the Waldensians visited 
them and found in the canton of the Grisons, in the Ber- 
nina and. Bregaglia passes, 2,384 members of the Italian 
Reformed Church. While also along the St. Gothard 
pass, at Biasca and Locarno, Reformed churches have 
been established among the Italians. Thus we find there 
are fifteen Reformed Churches in Switzerland speaking 
three languages, and numbering in all 1,667,109 ad- 
herents. 

FRANCE. 

The next land where the Reformed doctrines found 
a home was France. Calvin from Geneva influenced 
France and all French speaking people. In spite of 
her awful history, in spite of a St. Bartholomew and a 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the old Huguenot 
Church has continued to exist. And she has not only 



464 THE REFORMED CHURCH OP GERMANY. 

continued to exist, but she has wonderfully grown dur- 
ing the last century. When, at the beginning of this 
century, Napoleon gave her recognition, there were only 
180 churches, fifty of them being pastorless. Since 
then she has grown, until there are 720 pastors, and 
there would be 1200, if Alsace and Lorraine had not 
been separated from France by the Germans. The 
Huguenot Church is somewhat crippled by its connec- 
tion with the state, and still further hampered by a 
rationalistic party within it. But the Evangelicals are 
largely in the majority. Out of 702 pastors, 512 are 
orthodox and 190 liberal. The French government 
finally, in 1872, called a General Synod of the Reformed 
churches. This was the first General Synod that had 
assembled at the call of the government since 1659, 
when the last National Synod was held at Loudun, at 
the command of Louis XIV., who refused to call an- 
other synod, because they were too expensive, but really 
because he wanted to break up the unity of the Protest- 
ants. This first synod was held at Paris, in 1872. In 
this synod the Evangelicals gained the victory, and 
compelled a subscription to the old creeds of the Church, 
which the rationalists did not want. But as the Lib- 
erals protested against the decisions of this synod, no 
more synods were held by the government, although 
these synods were to have been held annually. The 
Evangelicals waited, and finding that the state would 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



465 



not call any more synods, they determined not to be 
outwitted. They proceeded to form a synod of their 
own. They resolved to organize an unofficial synod, 
with officers, classes and committees, which was to meet 
every three years. They thus outwitted the state and 
the rationalists. The first meeting of this unofficial 
synod was held at Paris, the second at Marseilles in 
1881 ; the third has just been held in St. Quentin. 
Out of the 700 pastors, 425 have united with this 
synod. Thus the State Church, the old historic Hugu- 
enot Church, is revealing new life, and renewing her 
youth. She numbers 550,000 adherents. 

In addition to this State Church, a Free Church has 
arisen. It was started in 1848 by Frederic Monod, 
who was compelled to leave the State Church by the 
government and the rationalists. It is a very aggress- 
ive body, and numbers, we think, about 14,000. The 
state churches in the North of France and Normandy 
have suffered less from rationalism than the churches in 
the South. The only rationalistic church in Paris is 
the Oratoire. Bersier, Theodore Monod, Decoppet of 
Paris, and Prof, Jean Monod of Montauban are the 
leaders of the orthodox in the State Church ; Coquerel 
of the rationalists. Prominent among the free church 
leaders, is Pressense. Indeed, it is remarkable how 
many prominent men the Reformed Church has pro- 
duced for the republic. Although the Reformed con- 



466 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

stitute a very small part of the population, yet they 
have given a President to France in Thiers. And in 
one of the Cabinets a majority were Protestants. The 
McAll mission, the wonder of the last decade, has 
greatly aided the Reformed Church of France, by stir- 
ring up her own members, and by making converts for 
her from Catholicism. In no European land does the 
outlook seem so bright for the Reformed Church as in 
France. Of all Catholic countries France is drifting 
fastest away from the Catholic Church. Mr. Reveil- 
laud, the distinguished editor and evangelist, after a 
thorough personal investigation, says that out of the 
ten million French electors, six million acknowledge 
the moral and religious superiority of the Reformed 
religion, and passively desire its triumph. In this 
drift from Catholicism, the people who tend to Protest- 
antism, will naturally drift into the Huguenot, the old 
historic Church of France. It would not be surpris- 
ing, if within the next century the Reformed Church of 
France would double herself. 

HOLLAND. 

Holland comes next in the history of the Reformed 
Church. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
the Reformed faith had no more devoted adherents and 
valiant defenders than the Dutch. Alas, to what a sad 
condition has the Dutch Church fallen, in these latter 
days. More than any other Reformed Church she has 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



467 



drifted from the faith, for which her fathers bled. Ra- 
tionalism, under the name of Modernism, has swept 
over the land. What was denied by the Synod of 
Dort, has now come to pass. Oh, for another Synod of 
Dort, to declare the orthodoxy of the Holland Church. 
Better a stiff orthodoxy than a limp rationalism. One 
fifth of all her congregations are vacant, and some va- 
cant for fifteen or more years. Many of the congrega- 
tions would rather have no pastor than a rationalist. 
It is a curious illustration, where the people are more 
orthodox than their ministers. Of her 1200 pastors, 
600 are Moderns, 300 others belong to the Groningen 
school, which, while not rationalistic, is only semi- 
Evangelical, being semi-Pelagian and semi-Arian. The 
remaining 300 pastors are orthodox. But they are 
divided into two parties, one of whom is Evangelical 
and refuses to receive any creed, like the Belgic Confes- 
sion ; while the other is composed of the Confessionalists, 
and demands a strict adherence to the old creeds con- 
firmed by the Synod of Dort. A movement has re- 
cently taken place in Holland, which has challenged 
the attention of the world, and the sympathy of the 
other Reformed Churches. The Evangelicals in 1879 
organized a free university at Amsterdam, under the 
supervision of Drs. Hoedemaker and Kuyper. Its aim 
was to indoctrinate students with the orthodox doctrines. 
This university became quite prosperous. But the con- 



468 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

flict between these Evangelicals and the rationalists 
deepened. The state churches refused to license the 
graduates of this unofficial university. Finally the 
Evangelicals were driven out of the State Church, the 
doors of the New Church of Amsterdam (which had 
always been their rendezvous), being locked against 
them. Seventy-five ministers, elders and deacons, and 
15,000 people were driven out of the church at Amster- 
dam ; two pastors and 3,500 people at Rotterdam. So 
a congress was called at Amsterdam, in January, 1887, 
to organize this new movement. Two hundred and 
fifty delegates were present from 1 50 congregations, and 
there were large audiences and great interest. Thirty- 
five churches have left the State Church. It is too 
early to count the results of this movement. It will, 
however, carry many thousands out of the State Church 
into this new organization, which will either become a 
separate Church, or else affiliate with the Christian Re- 
formed Church of Holland. This movement is not a 
schism or a disruption, but a return to the old faith 
guaranteed to the Church, before the constitution of the 
Netherlands was altered by the government in 1816. 

The Christian Reformed Church of Holland is com- 
posed of dissenters, who left the State Church in 1834, 
because of the rationalism. They have become strictly 
orthodox, and are great Psalm singers. They number 
130,000 members and 200,000 adherents, with a theo- 
logical seminary at Kampen. 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



469 



There is also a small Walloon Reformed Church in 
Holland, composed of descendants of Belgians, who did 
not dare return to their land in the sixteenth century. 
The Walloon Church numbers about 10,258. 

The present condition of the Dutch Reformed 
Church is one of fermentation and division. God is 
undoubtedly ordering all things for a wise end. That 
end will be his glory. But how he will bring it about, 
time alone will reveal. There are in Holland 2,167,110 
adherents to the Reformed Churches, of whom 1,956,852 
are in the State Church. There are seven Missionary 
Societies, which have missions in the various Dutch 
colonies. Of these, the Rotterdam Society have done 
the greatest work. In their struggle for the purity of 
the faith, these Dutch brethren need the sympathy and 
the prayers of all their Reformed brethren. 

GERMANY. 

Later than Switzerland, France and Holland, Ger- 
many received the Reformed faith. Although it had 
been introduced much earlier, it did not become promi- 
nent until the conversion of Elector Frederick III. 
It was his defence at Augsburg which caused its recog- 
nition by the state. Before the Thirty Years' War, per- 
haps one-fourth of Germany was Reformed. But per- 
secution and other unfortunate events have reduced her 
numbers. A part of the Reformed Church has been 
swallowed up in the Evangelical Church of Prussia, 



470 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

which is a union of Lutherans and Reformed. There 
are about one million and a third of adherents to the 
Reformed faith in Germany (at the present time). 

The ecclesiastical condition of Germany is very 
much the same as in Switzerland. Each land or county 
had its own Reformed Church. The result is that there 
were many Reformed Churches in Germany without 
any bond or connection between them. The Reformed 
adherents are, therefore, isolated and scattered, from the 
Rhine to Silesia, and from Pomerania to Bavaria. The 
various provinces of Germany were united into one 
great empire in 1871. But while there has been a po- 
litical union, there has been no religious union of the 
Reformed Churches. Only within the last few years 
has there been an effort to bring the scattered Reformed 
Churches together, by the organization of a Reformed 
Bund or Alliance, which holds its second meeting at 
Detmold in Lippe this summer. Several causes are 
forcing the Reformed of Germany together at the pres- 
ent time. One is the rise of confessionalism. The 
Lutherans in the Evangelical Church are becoming 
more pronounced Lutherans. And the Reformed, over 
against them, are led to emphasize their position. An- 
other cause is the increasing tide of piety that is begin- 
ning to reveal itself in Germany, which is forcing the 
Churches to take a positive instead of a negative posi- 
tion. And lastly, the growing political influence of the 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



471 



Catholic Church is forcing the Reformed, who have 
always been at the antipodes of Romanism, to unite for 
common protection. The growing influence of the new 
rationalistic school of Rischl is urging the Reformed to 
unite for defence. The Hammerstine propositions to 
give more liberty to the Church, and also more endow- 
ment to her, too, will aid the Reformed. (For the 
Catholics in Prussia receive as much state help as the 
Protestants, although they are only half as strong.) As. 
a result of all these movements, the Reformed of Ger- 
many are gradually uniting their forces. As some one 
says : " The destruction of Calvinism in Germany 
means the ultimate destruction of Protestantism." 

Taking up the parts of Germany in detail, we no- 
tice, there are Reformed congregations at the following 
prominent places. (We have not time to give the 
country congregations.) In Eastern Germany, at Ko- 
nigsberg, 3500, (also a French church 300,) Danzic 
2500, Stettin 700, (French 500,) Breslau 1500. In 
Berlin the German Reformed churches, including the 
cathedral (which was formerly Reformed), have gone 
into the United or Evangelical Church. But there still 
remain two Reformed churches. One is the Bohe- 
mian church which was formed by the Bohemians who 
fled from Bohemia in 1732. Its pastor is Hapke, and 
it is called the Bethlehem church. The other is a 
French Reformed church, formed by French refugees 



472 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

in fleeing from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
The Bohemian church numbers 1600, and the French 
church 6000.* In Leipsic there is a Reformed church 
of 3367, and at Dresden a church with 1800. Most of 
Anhalt has gone into the Evangelical Church. But 
there are still 38,000 Reformed in the county of An- 
halt-Kotha. There are quite a number of Reformed 
churches around Magdeburg, composed of descendants 
of French refugees in the seventeenth century. Mag- 
deburg has 5000 German, 1020 Walloon, 268 French. 
Halle has 4500. Then comes the Lower Saxony Con- 
federation of Reformed churches, of which Dr. Brandes 
of Goettingen is the president. Goettingen has 1500, 
Brunswick 4000, and Hanover 1800. This Lower 
Saxon Confederation is the only body that has preserved 
the strict presbyterian form of government for two hun- 
dred years ; the others having been modified by the 
consistorial form, or having been governed under Luth- 
eran superiutendents. At Altona, opposite Hamburg, 
is a congregation of 1000, the descendants of French 
refugees. Hamburg; has a German Reformed church 
of 5000, and a French of 100. Bremen still remains 
strongly Reformed, there being 24,399 in the city, and 
16,195 in the land. East Friesland, which has been 
included in the Hanoverian Reformed Church, has ever 

*Of the 35 parishes iu Berlin in the Evangelical Church, only 
five are served by liberal preachers ; and of the total 80 preach- 
ers in these parishes, about twenty are liberal or rationalistic. 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 473 

been a stronghold of the Reformed faith. It is divided 
into four consistorial districts, whose centres are at Eni- 
dem and at Aurich. Rev. Dr. Bartels, the president of 
the synod, resides at Aurich. Bentheim, one of the 
Reformed districts of the Hanoverian Church, is in- 
tensely Reformed. An important movement has lately 
taken place in this Hanoverian Reformed Church. The 
government finally authorized its 120 congregations to 
assemble in its first synod in 1881. Besides these, there 
is an Old Reformed Church of Bentheim and East 
Friesland with 2400 adherents, which is independent of 
the state. Lippe is a strong Reformed land, and is the 
only country which retains the classes in its govern- 
ment. Dr. Theleman is the Consistorialrath of the 
Lippe Reformed Churches. In its three classes are 
112,994 members. The Church of Hesse is united with 
the Lutheran in the Evangelical Church, and the Re- 
formed are overshadowed by Lutheran authority. 
Hesse has 381,652 Reformed members. But she is 
drifting toward Lutheranism. Nassau has 9800 Re- 
formed, but she has tried to forget that she ever was 
Reformed. At Frankford there is a German church 
with 7000, and a French church with 350 members. 
In Bavaria there is a group of nine churches, mainly 
composed of refugees from France, which is presided over 
by Dr. Ebrard of Erlangen. There are two churches at 
Erlangen and one at Nuremberg. The recent Franco- 
31 



474 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



German war has brought back to Germany the large 
Reformed Church of Alsace-Lorraine, with its five con- 
sistories, and a membership of 48,819. The Reformed 
church at Strasburg, with 922 members, belongs to it. 
But the centre of the Reformed Churches of Germany 
are the Rhine Provinces and Westphalia. There are 
300,000 in the Rhine Provinces, and 135,000 in West- 
phalia. These are intensely Reformed, and have re- 
tained their Reformed customs and zeal. Some of the 
congregations are very large. Elberfeld has 33,000, 
Muhlheim 30,000, Barmen 15,000 (all near Cologne). 
There is a Xetherland Reformed church at Elberfeld 
which was organized in this century, because the Re- 
formed opposed a liturgical service which the Prussian 
government tried to force on them. The Heidelberg 
Catechism is still in use in the Reformed Church of 
East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenberg, Sax- 
ony, Hanau, the Rhine Provinces, Westphalia, Bremen, 
Lippe, Bavaria, but not in Hesse and Nassau. There 
are only three or four Reformed professors in Germany, 
where there used to be five Reformed universities. 
These are Professors Kraflt at Bonn, Achelis at Mar-, 
burg, and SiefTert at Erlangen. Dr. Ebrard is honorary 
professor at Erlangen. The Reformed ministers of 
Germany may be catalogued in four classes. At the 
one extreme are the rationalists or liberals. They are 
fewer in number than in the Lutheran or Evangelical 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



475 



Church. For the Reformed Church has been protected 
from heterodoxy by its reverence for the Scriptures 
and its catechetical preaching. At the other extreme 
are the high Calvinists, who are so narrow in their 
views ; that all who are not high Calvinists, are not Re- 
formed. This strict interpretation of the Reformed doc- 
trine is not to be wondered at, because they are surrounded 
by so much rationalism. A prominent representative 
of this party is Dr. Zahn of Stuttgart, one of the best 
historical writers of the Reformed Church. Between 
these two extremes there are two classes. They are 
both Calvinists. The one rather emphasizes Calvin's 
doctrine of predestination, the other his doctrine and 
cultus of the Lord's supper. The first are strict predes- 
tinarian, but are broad in their sympathies, and will 
fraternize with others, even if they are not quite so 
Calvinistic, provided they are orthodox and evangelical. 
The second class are moderate on predestination (sub- 
lapsarian), but are Calvinistic in the Lord's supper and 
in that simplicity of cultus, which has always charac- 
terized the Reformed Church. Dr. Calaminus of El- 
berfeld and Dr. Brandes of Gcettingen are representa- 
tives of the former, and Dr. Ebrard of the latter. The 
union of these two — the old school and the new school 
Calvinists — will make the Reformed Alliance of Ger- 
many strong. This alliance will produce great results, 
if, avoiding controversy, they insist on orthodoxy of 



476 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



doctrine, simplicity of service and presbyterianism of 
government. 

AUSTRIA. 

Austria, although the most bigoted Catholic land in 
Europe (except Spain), yet nurtures within herself a large 
Keformed population. The A ustrian Reformed Churches 
may be divided into two sections — the Reformed Church 
of Austria proper and the Reformed Church of Hun- 
gary. In the superintendency of Vienna there are five 
churches with 6,433 adherents. In Bohemia there are 
forty-seven churches with 69,298 adherents; in Mora- 
via twenty-five churches with 40,089, and in Galicia 
four churches with 4,944 members. Together there are 
124,764 adherents to the Reformed Church in Austria. 
At Vienna there is a Reformed professor in the Uni- 
versity, Prof. Bohl, who is a very high Calvinist. A 
new congregation has been planted at Bregenz in the 
Tyrol. But the Church that interests us the most, is 
the Bohemian Church. In spite of terrible and con- 
tinued persecutions, this Church has continued to exist, 
and is to-day renewing her energies. Although perse- 
cuted for nearly 200 years, yet when the Emperor of 
Austria granted the Edict of Toleration, at the end of 
the last century, the number of Reformed people that 
seemed, like the Israelites, to come out of the caves and 
dens of the earth, was surprising. And now there is a 
small, but aggressive and growing Reformed Church in 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 477 

Bohemia, for which the Reformed and Presbyterian Al- 
liance at Belfast decided to raise 25,000 dollars. This 
Bohemian Reformed Church, about a year ago, formally 
adopted the Heidelberg Catechism as its standard. A 
few years ago a member of the Reformed Church was 
elected Mayor of Prague, which reveals the growing in- 
fluence of the Church. There is, however, a certain 
amount of rationalism in the Church. But some of the 
Reformed theological students are being educated in 
Scotland, and they are introducing the Anglo-Saxon 
aggressiveness into the Church. 

The Reformed Church of Hungary is a much larger 
Church. This Church has also suffered great persecu- 
tions, but was able, owing to the peculiar position of 
Hungary in the Austrian government, to gain greater in- 
dependence. It was divided into five superintendences, 
but they were not united into a central body, as the 
Catholic rulers did not wish the Reformed to have the 
strength of unity. Finally, in 1881, a General Synod 
was ordered by the government at Debreczin, which is 
the heart of the Reformed Church of Hungary and the 
seat of a theological seminary, of which Prof. Balogh is 
an honored representative. (This congregation at De- 
breczin is very large, having 36,000 members and 180 
elders.) Since this General Synod the Hungarian Church 
has entered on a new era of life and activity. Her unity 
has developed new strength and energy. This synod 



478 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

changed the name of the Church from the 1 Church of 
the Helvetic Confession' to the Evangelical Reformed' 
Church. The Heidelberg Catechism, which had been 
purged by the Catholic government of the 30th, 57th 
and 80th questions, was again printed in 1885 in its 
original form. In almost all the churches there is cate- 
chetical preaching on Sabbath afternoons. There are 1,- 
909 ministers and 2,090,252 adherents. The Hungarian 
prime minister is a member of the Reformed Church. 
He has succeeded in having a bill passed through the 
Hungarian Parliament, by which the Reformed Church 
is to be represented by five ministers and five elders, so 
as to counterpoise the Catholic and Greek prelates who 
have seats in that body. The Church has been tinc- 
tured with rationalism, but the orthodox and evangelical 
wing is growing. The Church supports a mission in Rou- 
mania (which has seven organized churches), and a Sla- 
vonic-Syrmisch mission. This Church, if revived and 
developed, has a great mission before it in the conver- 
sion of the Slavonic races. If the Bohemian and Rus- 
sian Reformed were united with the Hungarian Re- 
formed in earnest effort, a great work might be expected 
among the Slavonic races of Turkey, and in Russia, the 
great nation of the future. 

RUSSIA. 

Russia, though belonging to the Greek faith, yet 
contains in it a small, but influential Reformed Church. 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



470 



The Russian Reformed Church may be divided into 
three groups — the Polish, Lithuanian, and the central 
consistory. The Reformed Church of Poland, founded 
by John A. Lasco in the sixteenth century, notwith- 
standing all the persecutions of the Jesuits, still con- 
tinues to exist, and numbers 7000 adherents. It con- 
tains nine congregations under the consistory at War- 
saw. Its president is Tolande. The Warsaw congre- 
gation, which numbers 2245, has erected a beautiful 
church. Most of the congregations are Polish and 
German, but the congregation at Zelow (numbering 
2400 members,) is Bohemian. This Polish Reformed 
Church is a struggling Church. " Had Poland become 
Reformed, instead of Jesuit, the words ' Finis Poloniae' 
had not been spoken." 

The Reformed Church of Lithuania is composed of 
fourteen congregations. Most of the congregations are 
very small, except the church at Birsen, which numbers 
5000 souls. There is a Reformed gymnasium at 
Wilna. 

The remaining part of the Russian Reformed Church 
is spread through European Russia, from Riga and St. 
Petersburg on the North to Odessa and the Volga on. 
the South. The largest of these churches is at St. Pe- 
tersburg, where the German church has 1047 communi- 
cants, and 3000 adherents. At Moscow, under pastor 
Neff, there is a congregation of 2000 adherents. At the 



480 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



head of the Reformed consistory is Dr. Dalton of St. 
Petersburg, one of the most prominent ministers in Eu- 
rope. His church is a fountain of usefulness in the 
Russian capital. The church building is a veritable 
cathedral, having cost 180,000 dollars; and when 
burned soon after, it was erected at an additional cost of 
35,000 dollars. There are also French churches at St. 
Petersburg and Moscow, and a Dutch church at St. Pe- 
tersburg. There is a church at Odessa with 450 mem- 
bers. And near Odessa is a large Reformed colony of 
Germans in Bessarabia, numbering 3832. This Ger- 
man colony became the originator of one of the great 
Evangelistic movements in Russia. Many years ago, 
pastor Bonekemper was accustomed to have prayer- 
meetings or Stunden there. The son of this pastor 
came to America, was educated in the Reformed Church 
of the United States, and went back to visit his father's 
home in 1867. A revival of religion broke out in the 
village while he was there. Now it happened that a 
Russian laborer became interested in these meetings, to 
whom Mr. Bonekemper interpreted the services. With 
his quick Russian ability to master the languages, this 
peasant rapidly learned to read, and becoming possessed 
with a Bible, he went back to his country home, a new 
creature in Christ Jesus. But he could not keep the 
gospel to himself. In the long winter evenings he 
would read this Bible to his friends and neighbors. 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



481 



Ignorant that it was not the custom in the Greek 
Church to read the Bible, these Stundists went to the 
village priest to have difficult passages explained. They 
found they knew more about the Bible than did the 
priest. But the priest became angry and began to per- 
secute them. Still, this Evangelical movement kept on 
spreading from village to village. The Greek Church, 
alarmed, influenced the Russian government to try and 
stop it. The Russian government arrested the Stund- 
ists, put them in prison, and sent some away to Siberia. 
But wherever they went, they spread the gospel, whether 
in prison or in Siberia. And the seed sown by the 
Reformed of Bessarabia has so grown, that it is said 
there are at present eighty thousand Stundists in Rus- 
sia. This great movement is still spreading, and the 
Russian government is powerless to stop it. The 
Stundist movement is a child of Reformed effort. There 
are also three large Reformed congregations of 54,000 
members along the Volga, which, by a strange arrange- 
ment of the government, are placed under the Lutheran 
consistory of that district. The whole number of Re- 
formed in Russia is about 80,000. 

THE REMAINING COUNTRIES OF EUROPE. 

Lutheranism possesses Scandinavia, But there is 
one Reformed church in Sweden, numbering about 
190 members. Denmark has a few congregations, as at 
Copenhagen and at Fredericia. These are descendants 



482 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

of French refugees, who, more than a century ago, 
found a home there. They were permitted to settle by 
the Danish king, because he thought his people would 
not understand French, and would not be proselyted by 
them from Lutheranism. 

Belgium has two Reformed Churches. One is the 
old National Walloon Reformed Church, numbering 
about ten thousand, composed of descendants of the 
Walloons of the sixteenth century. The other Church 
is a new organization, which, although not Reformed 
in name, yet has adopted the Belgic Confession, and is, 
therefore, Reformed in creed. It is called the Evan- 
gelical Society of Belgium. It numbers about 3923 
communicants and perhaps 8,000 adherents, and is a 
very aggressive, growing Church. 

The Reformed of Great Britain have become Pres- 
byterian in name, but there are a few foreign Reformed 
churches in London. There is the Dutch Reformed 
church at Austin Friars — redolent with memories of 
John A. Lasco — which was the first church to introduce 
pure Presbyterianism. There are also a Swiss Reformed, 
a German Reformed and a French Reformed church in 
London. There may be other German or French Re- 
formed churches on the British Isles, of which we have 
no knowledge. 

Spain also has a German mission under pastor 
Fliedner, which uses the Heidelberg Catechism, as the 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



483 



incident on page 191 shows. We can not give statistics, 
but we understand that there are two German churches 
in Madrid. The Central Society of Evangelization of 
France, which is the missionary society of the French 
Reformed Church, also has a station beyond the Pyre- 
nees in Spain. 

Italy also has a few scattered Reformed churches. 
There are three French Reformed churches and four 
German Reformed churches in that papal land. 

Thus we find that in Europe there are about eight 
millions of Reformed people living in eleven countries. 
And the Reformed doctrines are preached in the French, 
Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, Bohemian, Hunga- 
rian, Polish and Russian languages. 

AFRICA. 

Passing from Europe to Africa, we find that at the 
two extremities of the dark continent there are Reformed 
churches. Algiers in the North of Africa, being a 
French colony, has French Reformed churches. The 
number of Protestants in Algiers is about ten thousand, 
of whom we suppose the greater part are French Re- 
formed. The Central Society of Evangelization, the 
missionary society of the French Reformed Church, has 
missions in Algiers. And the McAll mission has 
stations in that land. The Waldensees have sent a col- 
ony to Algiers, which was at first cared for by the Re- 
formed churches of Algiers. 



484 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

The southern part of Africa has a strong Reformed 
church. It was founded by Dutch colonists who went 
there in 1663. They were afterwards joined by French 
refugees fleeing from the revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes. These have fused together and formed one 
strong conservative, but aggressive Dutch Reformed 
Church. Cape Colony has 68,000 members, Orange 
free state 18,000, Natal 1000, South African Republic 
2800. The Christian Reformed Church has 6000, and 
the Dutch Reformed Church of the South African Re- 
public 15,000. Thus there are about 110,000 members 
in those African colonies. 

There are also two missions in Africa. One from 
the Dutch Reformed Church numbering 4000, and an- 
other from the French Reformed Church in Basuto 
land numbering 6000. 

ASIA. 

Asia is not without its witness to the Reformed 
faith, although here is it mainly a Missionary Church. 
The Dutch Reformed Church of America has three 
flourishing missions. One is at Arcot in India, with 
1610 members. Another is at Amoy in China, (where 
it has fused with the English Presbyterian mission,) 
numbering 784. A third mission is in Japan, number- 
ing 770. The German Reformed Church of the United 
States has a flourishing mission in Japan, which num- 
bers 200 members. These two last have united with the 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



485 



Presbyterians in forming the United Church of Japan. 
There are also two Dutch Reformed churches on the 
island of Ceylon, which were founded by Dutch colon- 
ists many years ago. 

The islands of the seas are not without their witness 
to the Reformed faith. Although the East India Com- 
pany for a long time opposed the missionary societies, 
yet it has changed its tactics, and now aids them in Java 
and elsewhere. There is a Dutch Reformed church in 
Java, numbering 7000, which is fostered by the govern- 
ment. East Java has 4000 Reformed. But the most 
remarkable work has been done by the Rotterdam Mis- 
sionary Society, which has flourishing stations on these 
isles. On the promontory of Minahassa, on the island 
of Celebes, a most remarkable work of grace has taken 
place, by which 85,000 of the heathen have become 
Christians. There are on these islands about 110,000 
members, and perhaps 200,000 adherents. 

Thus the distant islands of the sea are listening to 
the faith of our fathers, and bearing their witness to the 
truth. 

AMERICA. 

Passing over the ocean to the new world, we find in 
South America a few representatives of the Reformed 
faith. On the northern coast of South America, in 
Dutch Guiana, in the Surinam district, there are some 
Reformed churches under the Dutch government, but 
we have not been able to get their statistics. 



486 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



There are also churches in the Dutch colonies of the 
West Indias. The island of Curacoa has 2000 Protest- 
ants, most of whom, we suppose, belong to the Dutch 
Church. In the Danish West Indias, on the island of 
St. Thomas there is a Dutch Reformed church of 130 
members, which stands in connection with the Dutch 
Reformed Church of America. 

We are not informed whether there are any Re- 
formed churches in the southern part of South America, 
but we know that there are a good many German col- 
onists there, some of whom are Reformed, and also that 
there are Swiss settlers there, all of whom are Re- 
formed. 

In Brazil there are about a hundred thousand Ger- 
mans. In Uruguay, in the Argentine Republic and in 
Chili there are many Germans and Swiss. The Evan- 
gelical Church of Germany has been cultivating this 
field to some extent, but many of these Reformed set- 
tlers are without spiritual food or nurture. There is an 
open door for some of the Reformed Churches to enter 
here and reap rich harvests. 

In North America is the Dutch Reformed Church, 
composed of the descendants of the Dutch settlers at 
New York. It numbers 83,037 communicants, and 
about 250,000 adherents, and is a strong, conservative, 
wealthy and influential Church. 

The German Reformed Church of the United States 
was organized by settlers who fled from Western Germany 



THE REFORMED WORLD. 



487 



on account of persecution and oppression, and came to 
this country in the last century. It is also a strong and 
growing Church, and numbers at present 183,980 mem- 
bers, and perhaps about 500,000 adherents. There is 
also a Christian Reformed Church, composed of colon- 
ists from Holland, which' numbers 18,923 communi- 
cants, and perhaps 50,000 adherents. There are one or 
two Independent Reformed Churches in the United 
States. There is a French Reformed church at Char- 
leston, composed of descendants of the Huguenots. Its 
services are now conducted in the English language and 
it is an influential church in that city. There is also a 
colony of Swiss settlers in New Glarus, Wisconsin, who 
were sent over by the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. 
Their church still retains its connection with the Glarus 
Reformed Church of Switzerland. 

SUMMARY. 

Gathering up all these statistics, we find there are 
in the world about ten millions of adherents to the Re- 
formed faith. This is the figure given by Professor 
Ebrard of Erlangen, who is an authority on these 
points. There are also about ten millions of the sister or 
cognate Church, the Presbyterian. So that in all the 
. world, twenty millions may be reckoned as belonging 
to the Reformed and Presbyterian family of Churches. 
These statistics place us as one of the great world- 
divisions of the Protestant Church. The largest denom- 



488 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



ination in the world is the Lutheran, which numbers 
thirty millions. Then come the Episcopalian, and the 
Reformed or Presbyterian, each of which numbers twenty 
millions. • We can not give the exact statistics of the 
other denominations, but calculating from their mem- 
bership, we find there are *perhaps fourteen million 
Methodists, ten million Baptists, four million Congrega- 
tionalists. All these statistics reveal that we belong to 
no mean family, but that we are a part of a great army 
scattered over many lands, speaking many languages, 
but bearing the same name, having the same faith, and 
preaching the same gospel of Christ. 



INDEX OF DATES. 



1526. Homberg Synod. 

1529. Diet of Spire. Protest of the German princes. 

1529. Marburg Conference. 

1530. Diet of Augsburg. Tetrapolitana Confession. 

1531. Smaicald League. 

1534. Smaicald War. Phillip of Hesse rescues Wur- 
temberg. 

1536. Wittenberg Concord. Truce between Reformed 
and Lutherans for twenty years. 

1539. Frankford Conference, Calvin present. 

1540. Hagenau Conference, Calvin present. 

1541. Worms Conference, Calvin present. 

1 543. Elector Herman's Reformation. Bucer, Melanc- 

thon and Lasco at Bonn. 

1544. Wesel received Reformed emigrants from Hol- 

land. 

1546. Death of Luther. 

1546-47. Smaicald War. Phillip of Hesse imprisoned. 
1548. Augsburg Interim is placed on Germany. 

1551. Elector Maurice of Saxony defeats the Emperor. 

1552. Passau treaty. The Interim is lifted. 

1555. Augsburg Diet. Peace of Augsburg, which made 
Protestantism a legal religion in Germany, 
and gave the adherents of the Augsburg 
Confession the right of citizenship and pro- 
tection. 

1557. Worms Conference. Melancthon defends himself 

against the high Lutherans. 

1558. Frankford Conference. Melancthon is again tri- 

umphant. 

1559. Olevianus at Treves. 

1560. Melancthon's death. 
32 



490 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



1561. Naumberg Conference. Last victory of Melanc- 
thonianism. 

1563. Heidelberg Catechism is published. 

1564. Wesel becomes Reformed. 
1564. Maulbron Conference. 

1566. Augsburg Diet. Elector Frederick's defence of 

the Heidelberg Catechism. 
1568. Synod of Wesel. 
1568. Erastianism in the Palatinate. 
1571. Synod at Emden. 
1571. Arianism in the Palatinate. 
1574. Crypto Calvinism in Saxony, under Peucer. 

1576. Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate dies. 

1577. Formula of Concord is published. 

1577. Frankford Conference of the Reformed. 

1578. Nassau becomes Reformed. 
1581. Middleburg Synod in Holland. 
1581. Bremen becomes Reformed. 
1583. Ursinus dies at Neustadt. 

1583. Palatinate again becomes Reformed under Prince 
Casimir. 

1583. Bentheim becomes Reformed. 

1584. General Synod of the Wetterau princes and min- 

isters at Herborn. 

1586. Crypto-Calvinism again appears in Saxony under 

Crell. 

1587. Olevianus dies at Herborn. 

1588. Zweibriicken becomes Reformed. Publication of 

the Zweibriicken Catechism. 
1595. Bremen Confession is drawn up by Pezel. 
1597. Anhalt becomes Reformed. 
1600. Lippe becomes Reformed. 
1604-7. Hesse becomes Reformed. 
1610. General Synod of Julich-Cleve-Berg. 
1613. Brandenberg becomes Reformed through Elector 

Sigismund. 
1618-19. Synod of Dort. 
1619. Leignitz becomes Reformed. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &c. 



A 

Abegg, 195. 
Abend roth, 191. 
Agricola, 30, 72, 119. 
Aix-la Chapelle, 393. 
Alsted, 265, 409, 421. 

Altars, Reformed opposition to, 17, 81, 92, 96, 99, 116, 
147, 148, 197, 254. 255, 258, 260, 267, 
269, 303, 348, 351, 375, 447. 

Alting, 171, 172, 408, 420. 

Alva, Duke of, 283, 393. 

Amberg, 127, 227, 232, 235, 238, 315, 318 

Ainling, 346, 441. 

Amsdorf, 114. 

Amsterdam, 396, 397, 405, 423. 
Anabaptists, 82. 

Andrea, 12, 200, 202, 240, 312, 331, 334, 346, 354. 
Angelocrator, 408. 

Anhalt, 110, 243, 320, 337, 345, 356, 407, 433. 

Antwerp, 393. 

Aportanus, 27, 80. 

Argentine, D, 245. 

Arianism, 222. 

Arminius, 396, 401. 

Arndt, 347. 

Atonement, Universal, 88, 180. 380, 401, 415 note, 
419. 

Augsburg Confession, 36, 45, 75, 111, 113. 

Augsburg Confession, Altered, 45, 75, 113, 115 and note, 

121, 122, 137. 
Augsburg, Diet of 1530 ; 35, 74, 110. 



492 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 

Augsburg, Diet of 1555 ; 76, 104, 162, 164, 213. 
Augsburg, Diet of 1566 ; 10, 26, 35, 204, 207. 
Augustus, Elector of Saxony, 205, 207, 208, 212, 242, 
250, 330, 335. 

B 

Baden, 327. 
Badius, 295, 296. 
Balcanquall, 409, 416. 

Baptism, 15, 258, 280, 284 note, 286, 303, 346, 348, 

450. (See Fonts.) 
Barneveld, 404, 423. 
Bartels, 87, 173 note. 
Beatus, Rhenanus, 30. 
Beck, 409. 

Belgic Confession, 287, 290, 395, 398, 411, 418. 
Belier, 322. 
Belus, 247. 

Bentheim, 278, 292, 305, 306, 347, 433. 

Berg, 290 note, 295, 300, 303, 304. 

Bergen, 241. 

Bergius, 380, 408, 441. 

Berleburg, 236, 239, 255, 269. 

Berlin, 371, 372 note, 375. 

Berne, 41, 54, 226, 239, 265, 409. 

Beuthen, 385. 

Beuther, 324. 

Beyer, 104. 

Beza, 219, 220, 246, 313. 
Birstein, 269. 
Bisterfield, 409, 420. 
Blandrata, 223. 
Bias, Bertrand De, 280. 
Blume, 343. 
Bogerman, 411, 421. 
Bom mel, 281. 
Bonn, 295, 390. 

Boquin 134, 146, 149, 202, 217, 219, 238. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 493 



Bourges, 157. 

Brandenberg, 366, 381, 407. 

Bread, used instead of wafers, 16, 81, 86, 147, 255, 258, 
260, 277, 287, 296, 348, 372, 373 note. 
Breitinger, 408, 416, 420, 424.. 
Bres, Guido De, 393. 
Breslau, 150, 151, 239, 284. 
Brethren of the Common Life, 62, 80, 84. 
Bremen, 91, 271, 409, 432. 
Brenius, 423. 

Brenz, 12, 72, 105, 121, 200, 201, 202. 
Brenz' Catechism, 133, 140, 171, 193. 
Brunswick, 44, 73, 81, 110, 244, 271, 274, 347. 
Bucer, 29, 39, 43, 46, 66, 72, 76, 112, 204, 260. 
Bullinger, 83, 218, 254. 



Calvin, 13, 22, 41, 42, 45, 93, 101, 104, 105, 115, 116, 

120, 151, 157, 216, 285, 395, 443. 
Calvin's Catechism, 88, 92, 191, 287. 
Calvinism, 22, 415, 440. 
Cambridge, 46, 389. 
Candidus, 292, 323. 
Capellus, 244. 
Capito, 29, 34, 36, 39, 64. 
Carlstadt, 81. 
Caselius, 34. 

Casimir, Prince, 210, 213, 214, 219, 228, 234-8, 244, 

259, 307, 315, 338, 347, 436. 
Cassel, 112, 352, 353 note, 357, 364. 
Cassel, Catechism, 76. 
Castellanus, 56. 
Catherine Belgica, 267. 
Caus, Solomon De, 390. 
Cellarius, 35, 361. 
Chamier, 407. 
Charles V., Emperor, 102. 
Chasse, 314. 



494 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Chemnitz, 241, 244, 274. 

Christian, Duke of Anhalt, 347, 350, 392, 436. 
Christian I., Elector of Saxony, 314, 337. 
Christopher of Donop, 351. 

Christopher, Duke of Wurtemberg, 105, 123, 200-4, 
207, 312. 

Cleve, 288. 
Coblentz, 260. 
Cocceians, 265, 442. 
Coctius, 244. 
Coetus, 86, 88, 91. 
Coleman, 221. 
Collins, 66. 

Cologne, 260, 278, 291-96, 304. 
Confirmation, 196, 258. 
Copenhagen, 95, 97. 
Cox, 101. 

Cracow, city of, 82. 
Cracow, 332, 333. 
Craig's Catch ism, 191. 
Cranmer, 92. 
Crato, 17, 153, 226. 
Crell, 338, 340, 342. 
Crocius, 409, 421. 

Crosses, Reformed hatred of, 20, 103, 256, 301-2, 451. 
Cruciger, 257, 329, 332, 337, 356, 408, 420. 
Crypto-Calvinists, 203, 241, 257, 328, 349. 
Cup, use of, 78. (See Lord's Supper.) 
Cureus, 152, 331. 
Curtius, 98. 

D 

Dalton, 90. 

Dantzic, 90, 202, 274, 275, 386. 
Dathenus, 107, 202, 284, 286. 
D'Aubigne, 18. 

Daun Falkenstein, 292, 296, 433. 

Davenant, 409, 416. 

Denmark, 94, 243, 274, 389, 429 note. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 495 



Deodati, 409, 421. 
Dessau, 346. 
Detmold, 351. 
Dillenberg, 258. 
Diller, 133, 136, 145, 208. 
Donatists, 400. 

Dort, 179, 255, 350, 387, 391-4, 402, 405, 406, 410. 

Dort, Canons of, 417, 424. 

Dreckmeier, 351. 

Dresden, 330, 339, 343 note. 

Duisburg, 288, 304. 

Durer, 73, 342. 

E 

Ebrard, 61 note, 179, 182, 446, 448 note, 449. 
Ecolampadius, 64, 66, 67, 72, 83, 110, 112. 
Edward VL, King of England, 89, 94, 101, 230. 
Ehem, 133, 202, 207, 236, 309. 
Eiisheim, 409. 

Eiberfeld, 296, 300, 301, 303. 

Elders, duty of, 62, 77, 93, 219, 261, 285-7, 298, 301, 

302, 306, 438. 
Elizabeth, Queen of England, 11, 47, 106, 244, 317, 319. 
Emden, 27, 80, 89 note, 90, 98, 271, 288, 409, 432. 
Eogland, 46, 76, 89, 91, 220, 388. 
Episcopius, 401, 403, 412, 413, 423. 
Erasmus, 83, 109. 
Erastianism, 216, 396, 400. 

Erastus, 133, 134, 142, 146, 149, 202, 218, 222, 400. 
Erbach, 144. 
Erfurt, 214. 

Ernest of Brandenberg, 299, 370. 
Eutychianism, 23, 203, 445. 
Evell, 380, 440. 

Exorcism, 16, 44, 77, 133, 228, 257, 282, 339, 347. 
Exter, 326. 

F 

Fabricius, 409. 
Fagius, 46. 



496 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Farel, 18, 33, 83, 160. 
Fauth, 249. 
Feige, 58, 69, 74. 
Ferber, 58. 

Festivals, Church, 60, 147, 196-7, 258, 449. 

Fink, 370, 372. 

Fisher, S. R., 190. 

Fisher, Prof., 61 Note. 

Flacius, 118, 119, 200. 

Fliedner, 191. 

Flinsbach, 163, 167, 323. 

Fonts, Reformed hatred of, 16, 99, 147, 148, 267, 348. 
Formula of Concord, 23, 240, 242, 249, 257, 276, 323. 

334, 346, 354, 424, 425. 
Franeker, 263, 396. 
Frankenthal, 107, 129. 

Frankford on the Main, 43, 73, 99, 105, 106, 107 note, 

122, 245, 253, 268. 
Frankford on the Oder, 366, 384. 
Frederick III., Elector of the Palatinate, 26, 135, 142, 

178, 199, 200, 202, 206, 214, 216, 218, 

255, 267, 284, 307, 335, 432. 
Frederick IV., Elector of the Palatinate, 229, 252, 260, 

268, 307, 315, 388. 
Frederick V., Elector of the Palatinate, 384, 387. 
Fremaut, 87. 
Frieslaud, 80. 
Funk, 120, 445. 
Fussel, 372, 378. 

G 

Gamier, 47, 77. 

Gebhard, Truchsess, 249, 293 note, 294, 307. 

Gedicke, 367 and note. 

Geldenhauer, 77. 

Gerbel, 34. 

Gerhart, 202. 

Geselius, 403. 

Giessen, 67, 364. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 



497 



Glaneus, 276. 
Goad, 409. 

Goclenius, 359, 408, 419, 441. 

Goebel, 61 note, 87, 183, and notes to 154, 158, 286, 

301, 303, 305, 452 note. 
Gomarus, 251, 397, 401, 409, 416, 421. 
Good, Rev. Dr. J. H., 190. 
Gottorp, 386. 

Gowns, 18, 92, 96, 100, 103, 196 note, 258, 348, 351, 451. 

Grimersheim, 409. 

Gring, 191. 

Grotius, 423. 

Gryneus, 310. 

Gualthier, 246. 

Gustrow, 386. 

H 

Jlagenau, 44. 

Hagenbach, notes 17, 18, 334. 
Hague, 403, 417 note. 
Hainstein, 361. 

Hall, 408 note, 409, 416, 424. 

Halle, 367 and note. 

Hamburg, 91, 98, 243, 244, 274, 275. 

Hamilton, 63, 82. 

Hanau, 106, 266, 268, 433. 

Haner, 64. 

Harbaugh, 190. 

Hardenberg, 84, 99, 117, 136, 271. 
Hardenberg, Count of, 296, 433. 
Hausrath, 132 note, 221 note. 
Hedio, 66, 67, 68, 72. 
Heidanus, 287, 394. 

Heidelberg, 26, 30, 122, 129, 130, 138, 193, 228, 322, 
390. 

Heidelberg Catechism, 78, 107, 170, 199, 218, 251, 254, 
255, 261, 265, 277, 283, 287, 350, 399, 
414, 418, 441. 

33 



498 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Heidfeld, 282, 289. 
Heilbron, 323. 

Helvetic Confession, 2nd, 190, 215, 247. 

Henry IV., King of France, 319, 321. 

Henry of Zutphen, 271. 

Heppe, 179, 267 note, 449. 

Herborn, 262, 264, 270, 409. 

Hering, 369, 373 note. 

Herzog, notes to 114, 144, 210, 212. 

Herman, Elector of Cologne, 87, 250, 260. 

Hesse, 26, 50, 76, 243, 253, 352. 

Hesshuss, 13, 134, 145 note, 200, 212, 274, 282, 453. 

Hexamer, 324. 

Horn berg, 56. 

Hospinian, 243, 248. 

Huber, 341, 373 note. 

Humanism, 30 note, 40, 83. 

Hunnius, 12, 354, 356. 

Huss, 130, 135. 

Hutten, Ulric von, 31, 32. 

Hyperius, 76, 77, 352. 

Hyperius Catechism, 76. 

Ibach, 73. 

Images, Reformed opposition to, 19, 20, 37, 44, 60, 92, 
254, 258, 260, 267, 269, 301, 357, 363, 
375 note, 451, 

Interim, 25, 46, 90, 118, 279. 

Isaac, 293. 

Isenberg, 261, 266, 268, 433. 
Isselberg, 409. 



James I., King of England, 388, 402, 406. 
Jena, 330. 

Jesuits, 121, 228, 294, 319, 321. 

John, Count of Dillenberg, 256, 262, 266, 432. 

John Frederick, Duke of Saxony, 123, 146, 207, 331. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 499 



John, Duke of Zweibriicken, 327, 388. 
Julich, 290. 

Julich-Cleve-Berg, 300, 303. 
Junius, 226, 245, 397. 

K 

Kaiserlautern, 193 note, 238. 
Kalnian, 301. 
Keckerman, 386. 
Kelsterbach, 268. 
Kemmener, 306. 
Kirchner, 237, 361. 
Kirkl, 324. 

Klebitz, 137, 139, 141, 143, 145. 
Knibbius, 247. 
Knox, 100. 
Koch, 409, 424. 

Konigsberg, 83 note, 85, 90, 381. 
Konigstein, 340. 
Kraft, Adam, 58. 
Krafft, Prof., 185. 
Krummacher, 303 note. 
Kupper, 167. 

L 

Laidlie, 190. 
Labadie, 286. 

Lambert, 52, 70, 73, 285, 288. 
Landstuhl, 31. 
Languet, 245, 247. 

Lasco, 27, 82, 87, 128, 133, 260, 271, 272, 279, 284, 453. 
Lasco's Catechism, 88, 94, 99, 107, 273. 
Lefevre, 34. 

Leipsic, 119, 332, 333, 338, 341, 343. 
Lemgo, 351. 
Lemsius, 88, 90. 

Lewis, Count of Nassau, 263, 411, 416. 
Lewis, Elector of the Palatinate, 227, 229, 232, 236, 
248, 251, 307. 



500 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Lewis, Count of Wittgenstein, 227, 236, 253, 262, 266, 
432. 

Leyden, 397, 405. 
Liegnitz, 383, 434. 
Lightfoot, 221. 
Limburg, 50. 
Lippe, 351. 

Liturgy, 17, 100, 194, 197 and note, 286, 301-2, 
451. 

Llandaff, Bishop of, 408, 414, 416, 418, 421, 422. 
Loffards, 73. 
London, 89, 91, 389. 

Lord's supper, 86, 92, 284 note, 287, 304, 348, 443, 
450. (See Bread.) 

Lossius, 341. 
Louvain, 85, 136. 
Lubeck, 98, 243, 274, 275. 
Lubertus, 409. 

Luther, 17, 18, 31, 39, 42, 55, 61, 65, 67, 72, 109, 129, 

212 

Lutherans, (Preface,) 14, 118, 425, 427-30. 
Luther's Catechism, 76, 171, 173, 174, 190, 354. 
Lydius, 396, 410, 418. 

M 

Marbach, 47, 134, 237, 310, 323. 

Marburg, 59, 62, 67, 68 and note, 73 note, 354, 359. 

Marburg Conference, 35, 64, 352. 

Mark, 299. 

Martinius, 409, 416, 419, 421, 423, 441. 
Martyr, Peter, 47, 89, 95, 151, 153-4, 160. 
Maulbron, 201. 

Maurice of Hesse, 27, 79, 320, 356, 358, 436. 
Maurice of Orange, 403-4, 423. 

Maximilian, Emperor, 193, 206, 210, 215, 223, 229, 
334. 

Mayence, 52, 57, 65, 66, 115, 206, 364. 
Mayer, 409, 424. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &0. 501 



Mecklenberg, 98, 123, 386. 

Melancthou, 21, 27, 36, 39, 43, 51, 65, 67, 72, 75, 99, 
106, 108, 116, 118, 122, 145-6, 152, 260, 
272, 281, 443. 

Melancthonianism, 27, 118, 122-3, 128, 132, 151, 180, 
199, 240, 338, 346, 352, 429. 

Melander, 73, 74. 

Mening, 276. 

Metz, 55, 136, 160. 

Meurs, 295, 300, 433. 

Micronius, 95, 99, 173. 

Middleburg, 259, 394. 

MolJer, 329, 332. 

Monheim, 287 Note. 

Morenberg, 17, 152. 

Morlin, 118, 144, 146, 274. 

Moulin, 407. 

Muhlheim, 296, 297. 

Muller, 375. 

Mumpelgard, 313. 

Musaus, 275. 

N 

Nassau, 13, 243, 254, 256. 
Naumberg, 123, 137, 211. 
Neander, 96. 
Neomenius, 384. 
Neuberg, 132, 200, 327. 
Neuser, 217-9, 222-4. 
Neustadt, 238-9, 244, 250, 251. 
Neviges, 296. 

Nevin, 177 note, 450 note, 454 note. 
Nielle, 289. 
Noviomagus, 95, 257. 
Nuenar, 287, 291-3, 296. 
. Nuremberg, 65, 73, 110. 



502 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



0 

Olevianus, 149, 156, 176, 202, 214, 218, 219, 227,234, 
236, 239, 255, 263, 264, 269, 302, 394, 
400, 442. 

Olympia, Morata, 131. 

Orzenius, 282. 

Osiander, 72, 225. 

Osiandrianism, 120 and note, 181, 203, 445. 
Otto Henry, 104, 122, 130, 132, 138, 188, 230. 
Oxford, 389. 

P 

Palatinate, 108, 126, 166, 253-4, 307. 
Palatinate liturgy, 194, 259, 448, 451. 
Pappus, 49. 

Pareus, 194, 251, 266, 312, 319. 
Patiens, 237, 310. 
Pelargus, 380, 408. 

Pericopes, 17, 18, 197, 256, 259, 364-5, 448. 
Personne, 245. 

Peucer, 124, 208, 329, 332, 346. 
Pezel, 257, 258, 262, 276, 329, 332. 
Pfaff, 361. 

Phillip, Landgrave of Hesse, 26, 35, 50, 64, 69, 71, 75 
note, 76, 104, 123, 200, 204, 207, 352. 

Pigasetta, 221. 
Pietism, 304. 
Piscator, 265, 419. 
Pistorius, 355. 
Plateanus, 282. 
Pleissenberg, 332, 341. 
Plitt, 184. 

Poland, 82, 84, 105, 245, 367. 

Polyander, 409. 

Pours, 410. 

Pratorius, 245. 

Prayer meetings, 93, 286. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 503 



Predestination, 21, 48, 87, 113 and note, 154, 415 and 
note, 440. 

Preparatory services, 60, 194, 196, 287. 
Presbyterianism, 20, 60, 75, 77, 86, 93, 219, 285, 301, 
408 note, 435, 437. 

Probst, 272. 
Pruckman, 371, 378. 

Psalms, singing of, 92, 196, 255, 286, 364, 453. 

R 

Ranke, 61. 

Ratisbon, 45. 

Reformed name, 12. 

Remonstrants, 401-2, 406, 422, 423. 

Reuchlin, 109, 129. 

Richard, Count of Simmern, 206, 243, 316. 

Riedesel, 355. 

Rischl, 61 note. 

Rivet, 407. 

Roger, 244. 

Rollius, 282. 

Rosens, 403. 

Rotterdam, 405, 423. 

Roussel, 34. 

Rutimeyer, 409. 

S 

Salmuth, 338. 
Salnar, 13, 246. 

Sapienz College, 131, 148, 155, 198, 226, 238. 
Sayn, 269. 

Schaff, 19 note, 109 note, 183, 184, 190, 382. 

Schnepf, 35, 202. 

Schonaicher, 385. 

Schoner, 358. 

Schonfeld, 358, 365. 

Schopper, 237. 

Schurman, 184. 

Schutz, 332. 



504 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Scripture Lessons, 17, 18, 197, 256, 259, 364-5, 448. 

Scultetus, 267, 373, 385, 392, 408, 420, 422, 424. 

Sedan, 370, 388. 

Selden, 221. 

Selnecker, 334, 338. 

Shecksius, 234, 237, 310. 

Sickingen, 31. 

Sidney, Sir Phillip, 244. 

Siegen, 256, 262, 264. 

Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, 300, 367, 407, 434. 

Sirninern, 127, 135, 230. 

Smalcald League, 75, 111, 261 note. 

Solingeu, 300. 

Solms-Braunsels, 254, 259, 292, 433. 
Speratus, 131. 

Spire, 10, 52, 64, 110, 130, 215, 223. 

Sperber, 59. 

Sponheim, 127, 167. 

Stahl, 185. 

Stein, 408, 416, 421. 

Steinfurt, 306, 402. 

Stephens, 190. 

Stossel, 144, 146, 332-3. 

Strasburg, 26, 28, 56, 66, 200, 260, 293, 366, 432. 

St. Goar, 67. 

Stuler, 375, 379. 

Sturm, Jacob, 29, 37, 38, 47, 52. 

Sturm, John, 40, 48, 256, 260, 305, 351. 

Sudhoff, 148, 154 note, 158 note, 161 note, 173 note, 

177, 179, 182, 427 note, 449. 
Sutor, 222, 224. 
Sweden, 98, 327. 
Sylvanus, 222, 224. 
Sylvius, 141. 
Synergism, 44, 113. 

T 

Tecklenberg, 305. 
Temperance, 259, 356. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 



505 



Tetrapolitana Confession, 36, 47, 446. 
Theanthropic Life Theories, 203, 445. 
Thodenus, 351. 
Thuetius, 245. 

Tigurine Confession, 272, 284. 
Timan, 91, 272, 273. 
Torgau Book, 241. 

Tossanas, 149, 221, 227, 229, 233-4, 236, 239, 309, 
408. 

Transylvania, 223. 
Tremellius, 190, 226, 238. 
Trent, Council of, 45, 188, 319, 424. 
Treysa, 355. 

Treves, 156, 160, 168, 235, 270. 
Treviranus, 186, 190. 
Tronchin, 409. 
Turner, 89. 
Tyndai, 63. 

Ubiquity, 22, 112, 202, 241 note, 444. 
Udenheim, 30. 
Ullman, 195. 

Ulric, Duke of Wurtemberg, 38, 69. 
Upper Palatinate, 227, 318 

Ursinus, 17, 106J 107, 150, 176, 193, 200, 202, 204, 
226, 238, 239, 246, 250, 383, 385, 442, 
445. 

Utenbogardus, 397, 40l'. 
Utenhoven, 95. 
Utrecht, 187, 405. 

Y 

Van Buren, 274. 
Van Marnix, 412 note. 
Vehe, 222, 224. 

Victoria, Queen of England, 392. 
Vogelin, 331. 
Voltaire, 369. 

34 



506 THE REFORMED CHURCH OF GERMANY. 



Von Dohna, 367. 
Von Grove, 282. 
Vorstius, 402. 

w 

Walaus, 423. 

Walloons, 280, 395. 

Ward, 409, 416. 

Weekly Meetings, 93, 196, 286. 

Weissenberg, 32. 

Wendelin, 350, 440. 

Wenzel of Zedlitz. 383. 

Wesel, 278, 283, 288, 289, 299, 370. 

Westminster Assembly, 221. 

Westminster Catechism, 175. 

Westphal, 13, 98, 103, 104, 273. 

Wetterau, 253, 441. 

Whitlock, 221. 

Whitmer, 190. 

Whittingham, 100, 103. 

Wiclebram, 257, 276, 329, 332. 

Wied, 87, 260, 433. 

Wigand, 118. 

William, Landgrave of Hesse, 335, 353, 354, 356. 
William, Prince of Orange, 256, 263, 396 note, 404. 
William, Emperor of Germany, 382. 
Wiliiard, 194 note, 217 note. 
Withers, 217. 

Wittenberg Concord, 39, 75, 81, 112, 205, 352. 

Wittgenstein, 253, 432. 

Wolfgang, Duke of Zweibriicken, 200. 

Wolters, 148 note, 187, 189. 

Worlitz, 349. 

Worms, 44, 115, 129. 

X 

Xilander, 202, 219. 

Y 

Year, Church, 196, 449. 



INDEX OF NAMES, PLACES, &C. 



507 



Z 

Zahn, 348 note. 

tZanchius, 47, 48, 78, 218, 219, 226, 238, 239, 244-7. 
Zeitz, 339. 
Zell, 28, 32, 41, 66. 
Zerbst, 337, 345, 346, 350. 
Zuleger, 149, 245. 
Zurich, 151, 153, 160, 218, 420. 
Zweibriieken, 168, 323, 388, 441. 
Zweibriicken Catechism, 326, 441. 
Zvvingli, 17, 18, 37, 54, 64, 66, 72, 83, 110, 216, 395. 



ERRATA. 

Page 72, Benz should read Brenz. 
Page 136, Yenningen should read Fenningen. 
Page 197, Order of Worship should read Directory of 
Worship. 



SEP 28 IS 



